Qemu: net: e1000 infinite loop in start_xmit and e1000_receive_iov routines
Published Dec 29, 2016
5.5
MEDIUMCVSS 3.1
EPSS 0.44%
Description
QEMU (aka Quick Emulator) built with the e1000 NIC emulation support is vulnerable to an infinite loop issue. It could occur while processing data via transmit or receive descriptors, provided the initial receive/transmit descriptor head (TDH/RDH) is set outside the allocated descriptor buffer. A privileged user inside guest could use this flaw to crash the QEMU instance resulting in DoS.
Affected products
No data.
Configuration 2
- 7.0
- 8.0
No data.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
qemu-kvm-10:1.5.3-126.el7
Fixed · RHSA-2016:2585
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
kvm
Will not fix
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
xen
Will not fix
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
qemu-kvm
Will not fix
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
qemu-kvm-rhev
Will not fix
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
qemu-kvm-rhev
Will not fix
Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform 5 (Icehouse)
qemu-kvm-rhev
Will not fix
Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform 6 (Juno)
qemu-kvm-rhev
Will not fix
Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform 7 (Kilo)
qemu-kvm-rhev
Will not fix
Red Hat OpenStack Platform 8 (Liberty)
qemu-kvm-rhev
Will not fix
| Product | Package | State | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | qemu-kvm-10:1.5.3-126.el7 | Fixed | RHSA-2016:2585 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | kvm | Will not fix | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | xen | Will not fix | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | qemu-kvm | Will not fix | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | qemu-kvm-rhev | Will not fix | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | qemu-kvm-rhev | Will not fix | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform 5 (Icehouse) | qemu-kvm-rhev | Will not fix | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform 6 (Juno) | qemu-kvm-rhev | Will not fix | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform 7 (Kilo) | qemu-kvm-rhev | Will not fix | n/a |
| Red Hat OpenStack Platform 8 (Liberty) | qemu-kvm-rhev | Will not fix | n/a |
No package ranges for this CVE.
Remediation
Red Hat statement
This issue affects the versions of kvm and xen packages as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5. This issue affects the versions of the qemu-kvm packages as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 and 7. This issue affects the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 based versions of qemu-kvm-rhev packages as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization 3. This issue affect the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 based versions of the qemu-kvm-rhev packages as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization 3. This has been rated as having Low security impact and is not currently planned to be addressed in future updates. For additional information, refer to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux Life Cycle: https://access.redhat.com/support/policy/updates/errata/.
Metrics
No CVSS v4.0 score for this CVE.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
No CVSS v3.0 score for this CVE.
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P
This CVE is not in the KEV list.
No CISA SSVC assessment for this CVE yet.
Estimated probability of exploitation in the wild in the next 30 days (FIRST EPSS). As of Oct 1, 2026.
Score over time
2022–2026- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
- EPSS v5
Percentile over time
- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
- EPSS v5
Table of values (10 key points)
Flat stretches are collapsed; showing up to 120 newest points.
| Date | Score | Percentile | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2026 | 0.44% (0.00444) | 36.29th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Jun 15, 2026 | 0.44% (0.00444) | 35.13th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Mar 17, 2025 | 0.06% (0.00062) | 16.67th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Dec 12, 2024 | 0.06% (0.00062) | 28.60th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Jun 13, 2024 | 0.06% (0.00062) | 26.61th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 7, 2023 | 0.06% (0.00062) | 24.59th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 6, 2023 | 1.28% (0.01282) | 68.34th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 22, 2023 | 1.28% (0.01282) | 68.05th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Apr 1, 2022 | 1.28% (0.01282) | 65.91th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 4, 2022 | 1.28% (0.01282) | 41.72th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
References (13)
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016-2585.html vendor-advisoryx_refsource_REDHATThird Party Advisory
- http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3469 vendor-advisoryx_refsource_DEBIANThird Party Advisory
- http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3470 vendor-advisoryx_refsource_DEBIANThird Party Advisory
- http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3471 vendor-advisoryx_refsource_DEBIANThird Party Advisory
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/01/19/10 mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTMailing ListThird Party Advisory
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/01/22/1 mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTMailing ListThird Party Advisory
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/81549 vdb-entryx_refsource_BIDThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2016-1981 Vendor Advisory
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1298570 x_refsource_CONFIRMIssue Tracking
- https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/qemu-devel/2016-01/msg03454.html mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTPatchVendor Advisory
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-1981
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201604-01 vendor-advisoryx_refsource_GENTOOThird Party Advisory
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-1981
Change history (0)
No recorded changes yet.