# CVE-2020-24718: Privilege escalation in n/a

> A root user in a container can escalate privileges by modifying VMCS_HOST_RIP due to improper restriction of VMCS and VMCB operations in bhyve.

- **Severity:** High 8.2 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 25 Sep 2020
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-g73j-h828-gg82

## What is CVE-2020-24718?

CVE-2020-24718 is a high-severity vulnerability in Freebsd Freebsd, published on 25 Sep 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

bhyve, as used in FreeBSD through 12.1 and illumos (e.g., OmniOS CE through r151034 and OpenIndiana through Hipster 2020.04), does not properly restrict VMCS and VMCB read/write operations, as demonstrated by a root user in a container on an Intel system, who can gain privileges by modifying VMCS_HOST_RIP.

Weakness: CWE-862 (Missing Authorization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-24718?

It affects 4 products.


Products: Freebsd Freebsd, Netapp Clustered Data Ontap, Omniosce Omnios, Openindiana Openindiana.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-24718?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-24718 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-24718 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-24718 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Freebsd Freebsd

- [CVE-2018-17160](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-17160/): Memory corruption in FreeBSD (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2014-3954](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-3954/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2006-4304](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2006-4304/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2006-0226](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2006-0226/): Integer overflow in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2004-0002](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-0002/): Denial of service in n/a (critical 10.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-24718 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-24718 is a high-severity vulnerability in Freebsd Freebsd, published on 25 Sep 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-2020-24718 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Freebsd Freebsd. 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-2020-24718/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-24718/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-24718
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-24718
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-24718

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-24718/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.