Vulnerability in Xen

CVE-2026-42492

Xenstore, to have an up-to-date picture of the entire system, wants to know of domains appearing and disappearing. To make this more robust, a new XEN_DOMCTL_get_domain_state was introduced. The management of the bitmap underlying that operation is tied into the binding of the VIRQ_DOM_EXC virtual IRQ. Unfortunately an error path there would tear down the bitmap even in cases when it wasn't set up. Unprivileged domains can trigger that error path.

EPSS: 0.005 (38.5th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.5 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

Affected products

  • Xen — versions consult Xen advisory XSA-496

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-42492?
CVE-2026-42492 is a high-severity vulnerability in Xen, classified under Incomplete Cleanup. CVSS score: 7.5/10. Published 2026-07-28.
How severe is CVE-2026-42492?
High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.5 out of 10.