# CVE-2013-4535: Code injection in QEMU

> Remote attackers can execute arbitrary code via a crafted savevm image in QEMU's virtqueue_map_sg function, affecting virtualization hosts.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **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:** 11 Feb 2020
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2013-4535, GHSA-4g6m-vjr9-mv9r, UBUNTU-CVE-2013-4535

## What is CVE-2013-4535?

CVE-2013-4535 is a high-severity code injection vulnerability in Qemu Qemu, published on 11 Feb 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The virtqueue_map_sg function in hw/virtio/virtio.c in QEMU before 1.7.2 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary files via a crafted savevm image, related to virtio-block or virtio-serial read.

Weakness: CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2013-4535?

It affects 6 products.


Products: Qemu Qemu, Redhat Enterprise Linux Desktop, Redhat Enterprise Linux Server, Redhat Enterprise Linux Server Tus, Redhat Enterprise Linux Workstation, Redhat Virtualization.

## How do I fix CVE-2013-4535?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2013-4535 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2013-4535 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Qemu Qemu

- [CVE-2022-36648](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-36648/): Null dereference in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2015-8556](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-8556/): Race condition in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2009-3616](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-3616/): Use after free in n/a (critical 9.9)
- [CVE-2019-12928](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-12928/): Command injection in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2019-12929](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-12929/): Command injection in n/a (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2013-4535 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2013-4535 is a high-severity code injection vulnerability in Qemu Qemu, published on 11 Feb 2020. 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-2013-4535 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Qemu Qemu. 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-2013-4535/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-4535/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2013-4535
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2013-4535
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2013-4535

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-4535/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.