CVE-2020-35517

Name: CVE-2020-35517
Creator: NVD / NIST
Published: 2021-01-28T20:15:12.913+00:00
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

HIGHCVSS 8.2/10EPSS 0.52%

Last modified Jun 17, 2026

CVE-2020-35517 is a high-severity vulnerability rated 8.2/10 on the CVSS scale. A flaw was found in qemu. A host privilege escalation issue was found in the virtio-fs shared file system daemon where a privileged guest user is able to create a device special file in the shared directory and use it to r/w access host devices.. EPSS estimates a 0.52% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Description

A flaw was found in qemu. A host privilege escalation issue was found in the virtio-fs shared file system daemon where a privileged guest user is able to create a device special file in the shared directory and use it to r/w access host devices.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1

8.2/10

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

EPSS Probability

0.52%

40.3th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

Affected Software

Vendor	Product	Versions
Qemu	Qemu	>= 5.0.0, <= 5.2.50

References

https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1915823Issue Tracking, Patch, Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/qemu/qemu/commit/ebf101955ce8f8d72fba103b5151115a4335de2cPatch, Third Party Advisory
https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/qemu-devel/2021-01/msg05461.htmlExploit, Mailing List, Patch, Third Party Advisory
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202208-27Third Party Advisory
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20210312-0002/Third Party Advisory
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/01/22/1Exploit, Mailing List, Patch, Third Party Advisory
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1915823Issue Tracking, Patch, Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/qemu/qemu/commit/ebf101955ce8f8d72fba103b5151115a4335de2cPatch, Third Party Advisory
https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/qemu-devel/2021-01/msg05461.htmlExploit, Mailing List, Patch, Third Party Advisory
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202208-27Third Party Advisory
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20210312-0002/Third Party Advisory
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/01/22/1Exploit, Mailing List, Patch, Third Party Advisory

Timeline

Published: Jan 28, 2021
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Modified

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-35517?

How severe is CVE-2020-35517?

CVE-2020-35517 has a CVSS score of 8.2/10 (HIGH severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.52% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2020-35517?

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-2020-35517?

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

Scan your code now

Source: NVD / NIST