Vulnerability record · CVE-2019-10168 · published 2 August 2019
CVE-2019-10168: Redhat libvirt execution with unnecessary privileges vulnerability
Redhat · Libvirt
The virConnectBaselineHypervisorCPU() and virConnectCompareHypervisorCPU() libvirt APIs, 4.x.x before 4.10.1 and 5.x.x before 5.4.1, accept an "emulator" argument to specify the program providing emulation for a domain. Since v1.2.19, libvirt will execute that program to probe the domain's capabilities. Read-only clients could specify an arbitrary path for this argument, causing libvirtd to execute a crafted executable with its own privileges.
Description
The virConnectBaselineHypervisorCPU() and virConnectCompareHypervisorCPU() libvirt APIs, 4.x.x before 4.10.1 and 5.x.x before 5.4.1, accept an "emulator" argument to specify the program providing emulation for a domain. Since v1.2.19, libvirt will execute that program to probe the domain's capabilities. Read-only clients could specify an arbitrary path for this argument, causing libvirtd to execute a crafted executable with its own privileges.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Affected products
9 vulnerable configurations from NVD's CPE data, grouped by vendor and product.
References
| Link | Tags |
|---|---|
| https://access.redhat.com/libvirt-privesc-vulnerabilities | Vendor Advisory |
| https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2019-10168 | Issue TrackingThird Party AdvisoryVendor Advisory |
| https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202003-18 | Third Party Advisory |
| https://access.redhat.com/libvirt-privesc-vulnerabilities | Vendor Advisory |
| https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2019-10168 | Issue TrackingThird Party AdvisoryVendor Advisory |
| https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202003-18 | Third Party Advisory |
Track CVE-2019-10168 inside VULONE
Watch it alongside the ransomware crews, C2 infrastructure and forum chatter that reference it, query it through the API and pull it into your SIEM over TAXII.
Related vulnerabilities
Same products first, then exploited flaws of the same weakness class.
Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database (record CVE-2019-10168), CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS (scores of 2026-09-26). This page is refreshed as NVD updates the record.