CVE-2017-15124 — Qemu: memory exhaustion through framebuffer update request message in VNC server

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HIGH

Qemu: memory exhaustion through framebuffer update request message in VNC server

Published Jan 9, 2018

7.5

HIGH

CVSS 3.0

EPSS 2.84%

Description

VNC server implementation in Quick Emulator (QEMU) 2.11.0 and older was found to be vulnerable to an unbounded memory allocation issue, as it did not throttle the framebuffer updates sent to its client. If the client did not consume these updates, VNC server allocates growing memory to hold onto this data. A malicious remote VNC client could use this flaw to cause DoS to the server host.

Affected products

Vendor QEMU Product QEMU Default
n/a
- Version
  2.11.0 and older
  Status
  affected
  Constraints
  -

Default status is the baseline for the product, each version can override it (e.g. patched versions marked unaffected).

Vendor

Product

Default status

Versions

QEMU

n/a

Version	Status	Constraints
2.11.0 and older	affected	-

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7

qemu-kvm-10:1.5.3-156.el7

Fixed · RHSA-2018:0816
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7

qemu-kvm-ma-10:2.12.0-18.el7

Fixed · RHSA-2018:3062
Red Hat OpenStack Platform 10.0 (Newton)

qemu-kvm-rhev-10:2.10.0-21.el7

Fixed · RHSA-2018:1113
Red Hat OpenStack Platform 11.0 (Ocata)

qemu-kvm-rhev-10:2.10.0-21.el7

Fixed · RHSA-2018:1113
Red Hat OpenStack Platform 12.0 (Pike)

qemu-kvm-rhev-10:2.10.0-21.el7

Fixed · RHSA-2018:1113
Red Hat OpenStack Platform 8.0 (Liberty)

qemu-kvm-rhev-10:2.10.0-21.el7

Fixed · RHSA-2018:1113
Red Hat OpenStack Platform 9.0 (Mitaka)

qemu-kvm-rhev-10:2.10.0-21.el7

Fixed · RHSA-2018:1113
Red Hat Virtualization 4 for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7

qemu-kvm-rhev-10:2.10.0-21.el7

Fixed · RHSA-2018:1104
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

Affected
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

Product	Package	State	Advisory
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7	qemu-kvm-10:1.5.3-156.el7	Fixed	RHSA-2018:0816
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7	qemu-kvm-ma-10:2.12.0-18.el7	Fixed	RHSA-2018:3062
Red Hat OpenStack Platform 10.0 (Newton)	qemu-kvm-rhev-10:2.10.0-21.el7	Fixed	RHSA-2018:1113
Red Hat OpenStack Platform 11.0 (Ocata)	qemu-kvm-rhev-10:2.10.0-21.el7	Fixed	RHSA-2018:1113
Red Hat OpenStack Platform 12.0 (Pike)	qemu-kvm-rhev-10:2.10.0-21.el7	Fixed	RHSA-2018:1113
Red Hat OpenStack Platform 8.0 (Liberty)	qemu-kvm-rhev-10:2.10.0-21.el7	Fixed	RHSA-2018:1113
Red Hat OpenStack Platform 9.0 (Mitaka)	qemu-kvm-rhev-10:2.10.0-21.el7	Fixed	RHSA-2018:1113
Red Hat Virtualization 4 for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7	qemu-kvm-rhev-10:2.10.0-21.el7	Fixed	RHSA-2018:1104
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	Affected	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

Remediation

No remediation recorded yet.

Metrics

2.84% 0.02843

Estimated probability of exploitation in the wild in the next 30 days (FIRST EPSS). As of Oct 1, 2026.

EPSS probability 0.02843

Score over time

2021–2026

EPSS v1
EPSS v5
EPSS v2
EPSS v3
EPSS v4

Percentile over time

EPSS v1
EPSS v5
EPSS v2
EPSS v3
EPSS v4

Table of values (12 key points)

Flat stretches are collapsed; showing up to 120 newest points.

Date	Score	Percentile	Model
Oct 1, 2026	2.84% (0.02843)	86.19th	v5 (v2026.06.15)
Jun 15, 2026	2.90% (0.02897)	85.07th	v5 (v2026.06.15)
May 2, 2026	0.76% (0.00759)	73.42th	v4 (v2025.03.14)
Jan 25, 2026	1.83% (0.01833)	82.50th	v4 (v2025.03.14)
Mar 17, 2025	0.80% (0.00800)	72.38th	v4 (v2025.03.14)
Dec 12, 2024	0.71% (0.00708)	81.08th	v3 (v2023.03.01)
Feb 8, 2024	0.71% (0.00708)	79.78th	v3 (v2023.03.01)
Mar 7, 2023	0.71% (0.00708)	77.35th	v3 (v2023.03.01)
Mar 6, 2023	1.18% (0.01183)	61.76th	v2 (v2022.01.01)
Feb 4, 2022	1.18% (0.01183)	35.15th	v2 (v2022.01.01)
Feb 3, 2022	1.86% (0.01865)	48.06th	v5 (v2026.06.15)
Apr 14, 2021	1.86% (0.01865)	0.00th	v1

Weaknesses (2)

CWE-20

Improper Input Validation

CWE-770

Allocation of Resources Without Limits

References (11)

http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/102295
vdb-entryx_refsource_BID
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:0816
vendor-advisoryx_refsource_REDHAT
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:1104
vendor-advisoryx_refsource_REDHAT
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:1113
vendor-advisoryx_refsource_REDHAT
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:3062
vendor-advisoryx_refsource_REDHAT
https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-15124
Vendor Advisory
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1525195
x_refsource_CONFIRMIssue TrackingThird Party Advisory
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-15124
https://usn.ubuntu.com/3575-1/
vendor-advisoryx_refsource_UBUNTU
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-15124
https://www.debian.org/security/2018/dsa-4213
vendor-advisoryx_refsource_DEBIAN

Link	Providers	Tags
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/102295		vdb-entryx_refsource_BID
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:0816		vendor-advisoryx_refsource_REDHAT
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:1104		vendor-advisoryx_refsource_REDHAT
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:1113		vendor-advisoryx_refsource_REDHAT
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:3062		vendor-advisoryx_refsource_REDHAT
https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-15124		Vendor Advisory
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1525195		x_refsource_CONFIRMIssue TrackingThird Party Advisory
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-15124
https://usn.ubuntu.com/3575-1/		vendor-advisoryx_refsource_UBUNTU
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-15124
https://www.debian.org/security/2018/dsa-4213		vendor-advisoryx_refsource_DEBIAN