How severe is CVE-2020-14339?

CVE-2020-14339 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.8, rated high severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2020-14339 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (33rd percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2020-14339?

CVE-2020-14339 primarily affects Redhat Libvirt. In total, 2 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2020-14339?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

When was CVE-2020-14339 published?

CVE-2020-14339 was published on 2020-12-03 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2020-14339

CVE-2020-14339 is a high-severity vulnerability in Redhat Libvirt with a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.8. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-772.

Key facts

Severity: High (CVSS 3.x base score 8.8)
CVSS v2: 7.2
EPSS exploit prediction: 0% (33rd percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-772
Affected product: Redhat Libvirt
Published: 2020-12-03
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

A flaw was found in libvirt, where it leaked a file descriptor for `/dev/mapper/control` into the QEMU process. This file descriptor allows for privileged operations to happen against the device-mapper on the host. This flaw allows a malicious guest user or process to perform operations outside of their standard permissions, potentially causing serious damage to the host operating system. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to confidentiality, integrity, as well as system availability.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2020-14339?: A flaw was found in libvirt, where it leaked a file descriptor for `/dev/mapper/control` into the QEMU process. This file descriptor allows for privileged operations to happen against the device-mapper on the host. This flaw allows a malicious guest user or process to perform operations outside of their standard permissions, potentially causing serious damage to the host operating system. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to confidentiality, integrity, as well as system availability.
How severe is CVE-2020-14339?: CVE-2020-14339 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.8, rated high severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2020-14339 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (33rd percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2020-14339?: CVE-2020-14339 primarily affects Redhat Libvirt. In total, 2 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2020-14339?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2020-14339 published?: CVE-2020-14339 was published on 2020-12-03 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (2)

cpe:2.3:a:redhat:libvirt:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8.0:*:*:*:advanced_virtualization:*:*:*

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Other CWE-772 vulnerabilities

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CVE-2017-14138 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): ImageMagick 7.0.6-5 has a memory leak vulnerability in ReadWEBPImage in coders/webp.c because memory is not freed in…
CVE-2017-11641 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): GraphicsMagick 1.3.26 has a Memory Leak in the PersistCache function in magick/pixel_cache.c during writing of Magick…
CVE-2018-19760 — High (CVSS 8.8): cfg_init in confuse.c in libConfuse 3.2.2 has a memory leak.
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