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CVE-2015-8556

Published: Mar 24, 2017Updated: May 13, 2026 Sources: CVE List NVD BDUCWE-362
10.0CRITICAL
NVD MITRE
EPSS Score
13.4%
Top 3.8%
CISA KEV
Not in KEV
Exploits
3 Known
Remediation
Patch Available
Self-Check
OpenVAS

Description

Local privilege escalation vulnerability in the Gentoo QEMU package before 2.5.0-r1.

In plain language

AI Worth attention

If you run Gentoo QEMU on your machine and it’s older than 2.5.0-r1, an attacker can use a timing bug to gain higher privileges on that host—so you should update soon.

Executive summary

CVE-2015-8556 is a timing/race-condition weakness in the Gentoo QEMU package that can be triggered over the network without authentication to achieve local privilege escalation (higher access rights on the host), when the vulnerable version (< 2.5.0-r1) is running.

If affected, business impact
Full host takeover riskMalware persistenceService disruptionCredential theft risk

What to do now

  1. Check which version of Gentoo QEMU you’re running (and whether it is installed on any systems reachable by your network).
  2. If the version is earlier than 2.5.0-r1, plan an update to Gentoo QEMU 2.5.0-r1 or newer.
  3. Update Gentoo QEMU to 2.5.0-r1 and restart the affected service/host so the new version is actually used.
Some work to apply

CVSS Vector Breakdown

AV:NAC:LPR:NUI:NS:CC:HI:HA:H
Exploitability
AV:NAttack Vector
Network
AC:LAttack Complexity
Low
PR:NPrivileges Required
None
UI:NUser Interaction
None
Scope
S:CScope
Changed
Impact
C:HConfidentiality
High
I:HIntegrity
High
A:HAvailability
High
Open in CVSS calculator →

Weaknesses

CWE-362

Affected Products

qemu
oss-project·US
qemuOn-prem
Cloud & SaaS / virtualization
Fabrice Bellard
individual-dev·FR
QEMULibrary
OSS Libraries / generic-library
and 1 more affected products View all →

Exploitability

3 exploit sources identified

Exploit details including PoC links, Metasploit modules, and scanner templates are available after registration.

View exploit details
Official Patch Available
Is your org exposed to CVE-2015-8556?Request an assessment to establish which checks are appropriate for your systems. Check my exposure

Attack Graph

Products CVE Techniques Tactics

Click technique nodes for MITRE ATT&CK details · drag to pan · Ctrl/⌘ + scroll to zoom, or go fullscreen.

MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique
Privilege Escalation
View detailed technique mapping

References

http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/134948/Gentoo-QEMU-Local-Privilege-Escalation.html
packetstormsecurity.com
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201602-01
security.gentoo.org
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/39010/
exploit-db.com
and 2 more references View all →

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