CVE-2009-3525 Auth bypass in n/a

High 7.2 Published 5 Oct 2009 Updated 7 Aug 2024

Attackers with guest console access can bypass boot passwords to modify kernel parameters or boot guests in Xen hypervisors.

Exploited in the wild: Not known
Login needed: Any signed-in user
Attackable: Local or same network only
Victim action needed: Not needed
Fix: Available

What is CVE-2009-3525?

CVE-2009-3525 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Xen Xen, published on 5 Oct 2009. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

The pyGrub boot loader in Xen 3.0.3, 3.3.0, and Xen-3.3.1 does not support the password option in grub.conf for para-virtualized guests, which allows attackers with access to the para-virtualized guest console to boot the guest or modify the guest's kernel boot parameters without providing the expected password.

Weakness: CWE-264

Which versions are affected by CVE-2009-3525?

It affects 1 product.

Linux distribution packages (12)

`xen` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client	All versions	`0:3.0.3-94.el5_4.1`
`xen-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client	All versions	`0:3.0.3-94.el5_4.1`
`xen-libs` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::client	All versions	`0:3.0.3-94.el5_4.1`
`xen` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server	All versions	`0:3.0.3-94.el5_4.1`
`xen-debuginfo` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server	All versions	`0:3.0.3-94.el5_4.1`
`xen-libs` Red Hat:enterprise_linux:5::server	All versions	`0:3.0.3-94.el5_4.1`
`xen` Red Hat:rhel_virtualization:5::client	All versions	`0:3.0.3-94.el5_4.1`
`xen-debuginfo` Red Hat:rhel_virtualization:5::client	All versions	`0:3.0.3-94.el5_4.1`
`xen-devel` Red Hat:rhel_virtualization:5::client	All versions	`0:3.0.3-94.el5_4.1`
`xen` Red Hat:rhel_virtualization:5::server	All versions	`0:3.0.3-94.el5_4.1`
`xen-debuginfo` Red Hat:rhel_virtualization:5::server	All versions	`0:3.0.3-94.el5_4.1`
`xen-devel` Red Hat:rhel_virtualization:5::server	All versions	`0:3.0.3-94.el5_4.1`

Products include Xen Xen.

How do I fix CVE-2009-3525?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Upgrade, and rotate credentials and sessions that may have been exposed. More about Authentication bypass.

Is CVE-2009-3525 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2009-3525 exists.

Public exploit code: 1 Exploit-DB entry.

All Xen Xen vulnerabilities

Sources

Also known as GHSA-8xjx-475c-5hjg, RHSA-2009:1472.