CVE-2019-6974
In the Linux kernel before 4.20.8, kvm_ioctl_create_device in virt/kvm/kvm_main.c mishandles reference counting because of a race…
- 8.1HighCVSS base score
- 16.5%Exploitation in 30 daysEPSS · top 3.0% of all CVEs
- NoKnown exploitednot in CISA's KEV catalog
- 1Public exploitsMetasploit, Nuclei and Exploit-DB
Description
In the Linux kernel before 4.20.8, kvm_ioctl_create_device in virt/kvm/kvm_main.c mishandles reference counting because of a race condition, leading to a use-after-free.
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. A reference of the record is tagged as an exploit.
Show the exploits2
Exploit-DB1 entry
- Linux - 'kvm_ioctl_create_device()' NULL Pointer Dereference (Exploit-DB entry) (opens in a new tab)
EDB-ID 46388dos, linuxpublished 15 Feb 2019Verified
References tagged exploit1 reference
- 46388 (opens in a new tab)exploitx_refsource_EXPLOIT-DBx_transferred
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
- 20 days later
· 20 days later
Published
- 5 years later
· 5 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 | 3.1 | High8.1 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
- EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
- 16.5% · top 3.0% of all CVEs (11 Nov 2026)
The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: High 8.1.
Affected products
n/a
- affected n/a
References
References28
- https://bugs.chromium.org/p/project-zero/issues/detail?id=1765 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
- https://cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v4.x/ChangeLog-4.14.99 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
- https://cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v4.x/ChangeLog-4.19.21 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
- 46388 (opens in a new tab)exploitx_refsource_EXPLOIT-DBx_transferred
- https://cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v4.x/ChangeLog-4.20.8 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
- https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/cfa39381173d5f969daf43582c95ad679189cbc9 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
- 107127 (opens in a new tab)vdb-entryx_refsource_BIDx_transferred
- https://cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v4.x/ChangeLog-4.9.156 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
- http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=cfa39381173d5f969daf43582c95ad679189cbc9 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
- [debian-lts-announce] 20190327 [SECURITY] [DLA 1731-1] linux security update (opens in a new tab)mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTx_transferred
- [debian-lts-announce] 20190401 [SECURITY] [DLA 1731-2] linux regression update (opens in a new tab)mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTx_transferred
- USN-3932-1 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_refsource_UBUNTUx_transferred
- USN-3932-2 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_refsource_UBUNTUx_transferred
- USN-3930-1 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_refsource_UBUNTUx_transferred
- USN-3931-1 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_refsource_UBUNTUx_transferred
- USN-3933-2 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_refsource_UBUNTUx_transferred
- USN-3931-2 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_refsource_UBUNTUx_transferred
- USN-3930-2 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_refsource_UBUNTUx_transferred
- USN-3933-1 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_refsource_UBUNTUx_transferred
- https://support.f5.com/csp/article/K11186236 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred
- RHSA-2019:0833 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_refsource_REDHATx_transferred
- RHSA-2019:0818 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_refsource_REDHATx_transferred
- [debian-lts-announce] 20190503 [SECURITY] [DLA 1771-1] linux-4.9 security update (opens in a new tab)mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTx_transferred
- RHBA-2019:0959 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_refsource_REDHATx_transferred
- RHSA-2019:2809 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_refsource_REDHATx_transferred
- https://support.f5.com/csp/article/K11186236?utm_source=f5support&%3Butm_medium=RSS (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred
- RHSA-2019:3967 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_refsource_REDHATx_transferred
- RHSA-2020:0103 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_refsource_REDHATx_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-2019-16527 (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-2019-6974)Record last updated .