# CVE-2010-0298: Privilege escalation in n/a

> Guest OS users can escalate privileges or crash the guest OS by exploiting KVM x86 emulator flaws in memory access checks.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:P/A:P`)
- **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:** Yes
- **Published:** 12 Feb 2010
- **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** AZL-6514, GHSA-h7hj-hjcj-pwpj

## What is CVE-2010-0298?

CVE-2010-0298 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 12 Feb 2010. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The x86 emulator in KVM 83 does not use the Current Privilege Level (CPL) and I/O Privilege Level (IOPL) in determining the memory access available to CPL3 code, which allows guest OS users to cause a denial of service (guest OS crash) or gain privileges on the guest OS by leveraging access to a (1) IO port or (2) MMIO region, a related issue to CVE-2010-0306.

Weakness: CWE-264

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2010-0298?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Debian Debian Linux, Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2010-0298?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2010-0298 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2010-0298 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Debian Debian Linux

- [CVE-2015-3306](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-3306/): ProFTPD Improper Access Control (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-49113](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-49113/): RoundCube Webmail Deserialization of Untrusted Data (critical 9.9, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-24061](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-24061/): GNU InetUtils Argument Injection (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-39682](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-39682/): Linux Kernel Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-9680](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-9680/): Mozilla Firefox Use-After-Free (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2010-0298 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2010-0298 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 12 Feb 2010. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2010-0298 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Debian Debian Linux. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-0298/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-0298/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2010-0298
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2010-0298
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2010-0298

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-0298/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.