CVE-2020-25604: An issue was discovered in Xen through 4.14.x. There is a race condition when migrating timers between x86 HVM vCPUs. When migrating timers of x86 HVM...

Description

An issue was discovered in Xen through 4.14.x. There is a race condition when migrating timers between x86 HVM vCPUs. When migrating timers of x86 HVM guests between its vCPUs, the locking model used allows for a second vCPU of the same guest (also operating on the timers) to release a lock that it didn't acquire. The most likely effect of the issue is a hang or crash of the hypervisor, i.e., a Denial of Service (DoS). All versions of Xen are affected. Only x86 systems are vulnerable. Arm systems are not vulnerable. Only x86 HVM guests can leverage the vulnerability. x86 PV and PVH cannot leverage the vulnerability. Only guests with more than one vCPU can exploit the vulnerability.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1

4.7/10

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

EPSS Probability

0.26%

17.4th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

CWE-362

Affected Software

Vendor	Product	Versions
Xen	Xen	<= 4.14.0
Fedoraproject	Fedora	31
Fedoraproject	Fedora	32
Fedoraproject	Fedora	33
Debian	Debian Linux	10.0
Opensuse	Leap	15.2

References

Timeline

Published: Sep 23, 2020
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Modified

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-25604?

An issue was discovered in Xen through 4.14.x. There is a race condition when migrating timers between x86 HVM vCPUs. When migrating timers of x86 HVM guests between its vCPUs, the locking model used allows for a second vCPU of the same guest (also operating on the timers) to release a lock that it didn't acquire. The most likely effect of the issue is a hang or crash of the hypervisor, i.e., a Denial of Service (DoS). All versions of Xen are affected. Only x86 systems are vulnerable. Arm systems are not vulnerable. Only x86 HVM guests can leverage the vulnerability. x86 PV and PVH cannot leverage the vulnerability. Only guests with more than one vCPU can exploit the vulnerability.

How severe is CVE-2020-25604?

CVE-2020-25604 has a CVSS score of 4.7/10 (MEDIUM severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.26% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2020-25604?

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.