Xen: XSA-501 was about issues with v1 -> v2 and v2 -> v1 changes racing certain other grant table operations. (CVE-2026-79610)
Description
CVE-2026-79610 (XSA-501) is a vulnerability in Xen involving race conditions during transitions between grant table versions v1 and v2. Specifically, a v2 to v1 to v2 change sequence can cause status pages to be freed and then reallocated, resulting in stale pointers due to changed addresses in the status array. This can lead to serious impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
CVSS v3.1
Score 8.8high
Affected software
pkg:deb/ubuntu/xen?arch=source&distro=xenialpkg:deb/ubuntu/xen?arch=source&distro=bionicpkg:deb/ubuntu/xen?arch=source&distro=focalpkg:deb/ubuntu/xen?arch=source&distro=jammypkg:deb/ubuntu/xen?arch=source&distro=noblepkg:deb/ubuntu/xen?arch=source&distro=stonkingpkg:deb/ubuntu/xen?arch=source&distro=resoluteRun on your own infrastructure? Check whether these packages are installed with threat-finder — our free open-source scanner.
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
The vulnerability described in XSA-501 (CVE-2026-79610) concerns race conditions when switching between grant table versions v1 and v2 in Xen. During a v2 to v1 to v2 transition, status pages are freed and then reallocated, which can cause the addresses of these pages to change. This results in stale pointers into the status array, potentially causing memory corruption or other security issues. The CVSS 3.1 score is 8.8, indicating high severity with local attack vector, low complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction, scope changed, and high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Potential Impact
Successful exploitation of this vulnerability can lead to significant compromise of system confidentiality, integrity, and availability due to stale pointers causing memory corruption or unexpected behavior in grant table operations. The attack requires local access and low privileges but can have a broad impact on the affected system components.
Mitigation Recommendations
No explicit patch or remediation details are provided in the input data. Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the vendor advisory for current remediation guidance. Until a fix is confirmed, avoid exposing vulnerable versions to untrusted local users and monitor vendor communications for updates.
Technical Details
- Gcve Source
- db.gcve.eu
- Osv Id
- UBUNTU-CVE-2026-79610
- Osv Schema Version
- 1.7.0
- Ecosystems
- ["Ubuntu:16.04:LTS","Ubuntu:18.04:LTS","Ubuntu:20.04:LTS","Ubuntu:22.04:LTS","Ubuntu:24.04:LTS","Ubuntu:26.10","Ubuntu:26.04:LTS"]
- Cvss Version
- 3.1
Threat ID: 6ada45094d27ba8daa6a5b37
Added to database: 10/22/2026, 17:16:57 UTC
Last enriched: 10/22/2026, 17:41:10 UTC
Last updated: 10/22/2026, 17:41:10 UTC
Views: 4
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