An issue was discovered in the Linux kernel through 5.10.1, as used with Xen through 4.14.x. The Linux kernel PV block backend expects the kernel thread handler to reset ring->xenblkd to NULL when stopped. However, the handler may not have time to run if the frontend quickly toggles between the states connect and disconnect. As a consequence, the block backend may re-use a pointer after it was freed. A misbehaving guest can trigger a dom0 crash by continuously connecting / disconnecting a block frontend. Privilege escalation and information leaks cannot be ruled out. This only affects systems with a Linux blkback.
CVE-2020-29569
Score 8.8 from GitHub Security Advisory (severity: HIGH) published 2022-05-24. NVD baseline CVSS 8.8; sources differ by 0.0.
- High severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet
A fix is available — apply it.
- CVSS v3
- 8.8
- EG Score
- 8.8(medium)
- EPSS
- 30.9%
- KEV
- Not listed
Published
December 15, 2020
Last Modified
November 21, 2024
References (12)
- cve@mitrehttps://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/02/msg00018.html
- cve@mitrehttps://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/03/msg00010.html
- cve@mitrehttps://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202107-30
- cve@mitrehttps://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20210205-0001/
- cve@mitrehttps://www.debian.org/security/2021/dsa-4843
- cve@mitrehttps://xenbits.xenproject.org/xsa/advisory-350.html
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/02/msg00018.html
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/03/msg00010.html
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202107-30
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20210205-0001/
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://www.debian.org/security/2021/dsa-4843
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://xenbits.xenproject.org/xsa/advisory-350.html
Patch Availability(4)
| Vendor / Ecosystem | Fixed in / Patch | Released | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| ubuntu | linux-image-virtual-hwe-18.04-edge (5.4.0.66.69) @ focal | 2026-05-23 | ubuntu |
| ubuntu | linux-image-virtual-hwe-20.04-edge (5.8.0.44.49) @ groovy | 2026-05-23 | ubuntu |
| ubuntu | linux-image-virtual-lts-xenial (4.4.0.204.210) @ xenial | 2026-05-23 | ubuntu |
| ubuntu | linux-image-virtual-hwe-16.04-edge (4.15.0.136.132) @ xenial | 2026-05-23 | ubuntu |
Patches are aggregated from vendor advisories (Red Hat, Microsoft, Cisco, GitHub) and package ecosystems (OSV, GHSA). Multiple rows for the same upstream release have been deduplicated.
Weakness Classification(2)
MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.
All Vendor Advisories
(5)
Every vendor that published an advisory referencing this CVE — pulled from our cve_vendor_advisories aggregation. Click any row for the vendor's original advisory page.
- Microsoft MSRCCVE-2020-295692020-12-19
An issue was discovered in the Linux kernel through 5.10.1 as used with Xen through 4.14.x. The Linux kernel PV block backend expects the kernel thread handler to reset ring->xenblkd to NULL when stopped. However the handler may not have time to run if the frontend quickly toggles between the states connect and disconnect. As a consequence the block backend may re-use a pointer after it was freed. A misbehaving guest can trigger a dom0 crash by continuously connecting / disconnecting a block frontend. Privilege escalation and information leaks cannot be ruled out. This only affects systems with a Linux blkback.
- UbuntuUSN-4749-1LOW
Linux kernel vulnerabilities
- UbuntuUSN-4750-1LOW
Linux kernel vulnerabilities
- UbuntuUSN-4751-1LOW
Linux kernel vulnerabilities
- UbuntuUSN-4876-1LOW
Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Data Freshness Timeline
(refreshed 9× in last 7d / 38× in last 30d)
Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.
- 2026-07-11 08:25 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-11 08:25 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-09 19:07 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-08 15:12 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-07 13:43 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-06 16:25 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-06 16:25 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-06 02:21 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-06 02:21 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-04 06:29 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-04 06:29 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-30 23:20 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-30 23:20 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-28 04:54 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-28 04:54 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-27 03:06 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-27 03:06 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-25 13:48 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-24 14:03 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-24 14:03 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-24 07:29 UTCOSV refresh
- 2026-06-23 21:31 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-23 21:31 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-22 14:23 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-22 14:23 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-21 14:54 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-21 14:54 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-21 01:57 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-19 19:24 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-19 19:23 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-18 17:50 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-18 17:50 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-17 17:50 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-16 17:50 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-15 17:46 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-14 23:15 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-13 22:58 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-12 23:10 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-11 13:58 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-10 22:16 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-10 13:20 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-08 14:15 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-07 15:23 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-07 15:23 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-07 15:23 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-07 11:29 UTCOSV refresh
- 2026-06-06 13:46 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-06 13:45 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-05 22:45 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-05 22:45 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-05 06:08 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-05 06:08 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-04 13:10 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-04 13:10 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-02 20:11 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-02 20:11 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-01 13:50 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-31 22:29 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-31 22:29 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-31 00:15 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-31 00:15 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-29 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-28 13:43 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-28 13:43 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-27 13:39 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-27 13:39 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-26 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-26 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-26 07:17 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-26 07:17 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-23 04:08 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-05-23 04:08 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-05-23 04:08 UTCGHSA enrichment
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Frequently asked(5)
What is CVE-2020-29569?
When was CVE-2020-29569 disclosed?
Is CVE-2020-29569 actively exploited?
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-29569?
How do I remediate CVE-2020-29569?
Dependency Blast Radius
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