CVE-2009-3525
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,…
- 7.2HighCVSS base score
- 1.2%Exploitation in 30 daysEPSS · top 30% of all CVEs
- NoKnown exploitednot in CISA's KEV catalog
- 1Public exploitsMetasploit, Nuclei and Exploit-DB
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.
Public exploit
An exploit or proof of concept is public: anyone can try it against an unpatched system. The public collections list an Exploit-DB entry for it.
Show the exploits1
Exploit-DB1 entry
- Xen 3.x - pygrub Local Authentication Bypass (Exploit-DB entry) (opens in a new tab)
EDB-ID 33255local, linuxpublished 25 Sept 2009Verified
Modules, templates and exploits as listed by the Metasploit Framework (BSD-3-Clause), ProjectDiscovery's Nuclei templates (MIT) and the Exploit Database (GPLv2), read once a day. Where the data comes from
Timeline
ID reserved
By mitre
- 4 days later
· 4 days later
Published
- 15 years later
· 15 years later
Record updated
Changes after publication (a new score, a public exploit, EPSS crossing 1, 10 or 50 %, leaving KEV) are kept since November 2026; earlier ones are not known.
Scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVDNVD · Modified | 2.0 | High7.2 | AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C |
- EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
- 1.2% · top 30% of all CVEs (11 Nov 2026)
The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: High 7.2.
Affected products
n/a
- affected n/a
References
References10
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:9466 (opens in a new tab)vdb-entrysignaturex_refsource_OVALx_transferred
- [oss-security] 20090925 CVE Request -- Xen -- PyGrub (opens in a new tab)mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTx_transferred
- 36908 (opens in a new tab)third-party-advisoryx_refsource_SECUNIAx_transferred
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=525740#c0 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred
- RHSA-2009:1472 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_refsource_REDHATx_transferred
- SUSE-SR:2010:012 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_refsource_SUSEx_transferred
- 36523 (opens in a new tab)vdb-entryx_refsource_BIDx_transferred
- 1022950 (opens in a new tab)vdb-entryx_refsource_SECTRACKx_transferred
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=525740 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred
- http://xenbits.xensource.com/xen-unstable.hg?rev/8f783adc0ee3 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred
Sources
The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.
- CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
- CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
- NVD (opens in a new tab)
- FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
- EUVD EUVD-2009-3507 (opens in a new tab)
- OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
- GitHub Advisories (opens in a new tab)
- CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)
Badge for a README or a ticket
[](https://cveledger.app/cve/CVE-2009-3525)Record last updated .