CVE-2015-8701

Name: CVE-2015-8701
Creator: NVD / NIST
Published: 2016-12-29T22:59:00.153+00:00
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

MEDIUMCVSS 6.5/10EPSS 0.39%

Last modified Jun 17, 2026

CVE-2015-8701 is a medium-severity vulnerability rated 6.5/10 on the CVSS scale. QEMU (aka Quick Emulator) built with the Rocker switch emulation support is vulnerable to an off-by-one error. It happens while processing transmit (tx) descriptors in 'tx_consume' routine, if a descriptor was to have more than allowed (ROCKER_TX_FRAGS_MAX=16) fragments. EPSS estimates a 0.39% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Description

QEMU (aka Quick Emulator) built with the Rocker switch emulation support is vulnerable to an off-by-one error. It happens while processing transmit (tx) descriptors in 'tx_consume' routine, if a descriptor was to have more than allowed (ROCKER_TX_FRAGS_MAX=16) fragments. A privileged user inside guest could use this flaw to cause memory leakage on the host or crash the QEMU process instance resulting in DoS issue.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1

6.5/10

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H

EPSS Probability

0.39%

30.8th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

CWE-193

Affected Software

Vendor	Product	Versions
Qemu	Qemu	<= 2.5.1.1

References

http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2015/12/28/6Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2015/12/29/1Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/79706Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1286971Issue Tracking
https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/qemu-devel/2015-12/msg04629.htmlPatch, Vendor Advisory
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201602-01Third Party Advisory
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2015/12/28/6Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2015/12/29/1Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/79706Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1286971Issue Tracking
https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/qemu-devel/2015-12/msg04629.htmlPatch, Vendor Advisory
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201602-01Third Party Advisory

Timeline

Published: Dec 29, 2016
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Modified

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2015-8701?

How severe is CVE-2015-8701?

CVE-2015-8701 has a CVSS score of 6.5/10 (MEDIUM severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.39% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2015-8701?

Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.

Are you affected by CVE-2015-8701?

Run a free Strix scan to check your systems for this vulnerability.

Scan your code now

Source: NVD / NIST