RHSA-2018:1660: Important: qemu-kvm security update

Published May 21, 2018
·
Updated

Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) is a full virtualization solution for Linux on a variety of architectures. The qemu-kvm packages provide the user-space component for running virtual machines that use KVM.<br>Security Fix(es):<br><li> An industry-wide issue was found in the way many modern microprocessor designs have implemented speculative execution of Load &amp; Store instructions (a commonly used performance optimization). It relies on the presence of a precisely-defined instruction sequence in the privileged code as well as the fact that memory read from address to which a recent memory write has occurred may see an older value and subsequently cause an update into the microprocessor's data cache even for speculatively executed instructions that never actually commit (retire). As a result, an unprivileged attacker could use this flaw to read privileged memory by conducting targeted cache side-channel attacks. (CVE-2018-3639)</li> Note: This is the qemu-kvm side of the CVE-2018-3639 mitigation.<br>Red Hat would like to thank Ken Johnson (Microsoft Security Response Center) and Jann Horn (Google Project Zero) for reporting this issue.

Affected Software

8 affected componentsFixes available
redhat/qemu-kvm<0.12.1.2-2.503.el6_9.6
0.12.1.2-2.503.el6_9.6
redhat/qemu-guest-agent<0.12.1.2-2.503.el6_9.6
0.12.1.2-2.503.el6_9.6
redhat/qemu-img<0.12.1.2-2.503.el6_9.6
0.12.1.2-2.503.el6_9.6
redhat/qemu-kvm<0.12.1.2-2.503.el6_9.6
0.12.1.2-2.503.el6_9.6
redhat/qemu-kvm-debuginfo<0.12.1.2-2.503.el6_9.6
0.12.1.2-2.503.el6_9.6
redhat/qemu-kvm-tools<0.12.1.2-2.503.el6_9.6
0.12.1.2-2.503.el6_9.6
redhat/qemu-guest-agent<0.12.1.2-2.503.el6_9.6
0.12.1.2-2.503.el6_9.6
redhat/qemu-kvm-debuginfo<0.12.1.2-2.503.el6_9.6
0.12.1.2-2.503.el6_9.6

Remediation

Event History

Feb 7, 2025
Advisory Published
via Red Hat·01:13 AM
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Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of RHSA-2018:1660?

RHSA-2018:1660 is classified as an important security vulnerability.

2

How do I fix RHSA-2018:1660?

To fix RHSA-2018:1660, update the affected qemu-kvm and related packages to version 0.12.1.2-2.503.el6_9.6 or later.

3

What software packages are affected by RHSA-2018:1660?

The affected software packages include qemu-kvm, qemu-guest-agent, qemu-img, and qemu-kvm-tools with specific versions.

4

What type of issue does RHSA-2018:1660 address?

RHSA-2018:1660 addresses a security vulnerability found in the way certain virtualization components handle processes.

5

Is there any workaround for RHSA-2018:1660?

There are no specific workarounds mentioned for RHSA-2018:1660; applying the recommended updates is advised.

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