How severe is CVE-2020-29486?

CVE-2020-29486 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 6.0, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires high privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.

Is CVE-2020-29486 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-2020-29486?

CVE-2020-29486 primarily affects Xen. In total, 4 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2020-29486?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.

When was CVE-2020-29486 published?

CVE-2020-29486 was published on 2020-12-15 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2020-29486

CVE-2020-29486 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Xen with a CVSS 3.x base score of 6.0. 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-770.

Key facts

Severity: Medium (CVSS 3.x base score 6.0)
CVSS v2: 4.9
EPSS exploit prediction: 0% (33rd percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-770
Affected product: Xen
Published: 2020-12-15
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

An issue was discovered in Xen through 4.14.x. Nodes in xenstore have an ownership. In oxenstored, a owner could give a node away. However, node ownership has quota implications. Any guest can run another guest out of quota, or create an unbounded number of nodes owned by dom0, thus running xenstored out of memory A malicious guest administrator can cause a denial of service against a specific guest or against the whole host. All systems using oxenstored are vulnerable. Building and using oxenstored is the default in the upstream Xen distribution, if the Ocaml compiler is available. Systems using C xenstored are not vulnerable.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2020-29486?: An issue was discovered in Xen through 4.14.x. Nodes in xenstore have an ownership. In oxenstored, a owner could give a node away. However, node ownership has quota implications. Any guest can run another guest out of quota, or create an unbounded number of nodes owned by dom0, thus running xenstored out of memory A malicious guest administrator can cause a denial of service against a specific guest or against the whole host. All systems using oxenstored are vulnerable. Building and using oxenstored is the default in the upstream Xen distribution, if the Ocaml compiler is available. Systems using C xenstored are not vulnerable.
How severe is CVE-2020-29486?: CVE-2020-29486 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 6.0, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires high privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.
Is CVE-2020-29486 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-2020-29486?: CVE-2020-29486 primarily affects Xen. In total, 4 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2020-29486?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
When was CVE-2020-29486 published?: CVE-2020-29486 was published on 2020-12-15 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (4)

cpe:2.3:o:xen:xen:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:10.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:32:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:33:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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