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9.4
CVE-2026-23562: XenServer Role-Based Access Control Configuration Error
CVE-2026-23562 · published 3 months ago
Summary
XenServer's role-based access control has multiple issues that allow administrators with lower privileges to access and modify sensitive system settings. This could lead to unauthorized changes to the system or data loss. Administrators should review and restrict access to sensitive settings to prevent potential security risks.
What to do
The CVE record does not list a fixed version. Check the vendor's site or the advisory links below - a fix may already be released.
Affected software
| Ecosystem | Vendor | Product | Affected versions |
|---|---|---|---|
| – | xen | xapi | all |
| Alpine:v3.21 | alpine | xen | All versions |
| Alpine:v3.22 | alpine | xen | All versions |
| Alpine:v3.23 | alpine | xen | All versions |
| Alpine:v3.24 | alpine | xen | All versions |
| Alpine:v3.20 | alpine | xen | All versions |
Original advisory text
[This CNA information record relates to multiple CVEs; the text explains which aspects/vulnerabilities correspond to which CVE.]
XAPI can configure different users with different roles, using Role
...
[This CNA information record relates to multiple CVEs; the text explains which aspects/vulnerabilities correspond to which CVE.]
XAPI can configure different users with different roles, using Role
Based Access Control. For more details, see:
https://docs.xenserver.com/en-us/xencenter/current-release/rbac-overview.html#rbac-roles
The pool-admin role is fully privileged. Notably, users with this role
can also SSH into the host as root.
The other administrator roles are pool-operator, vm-power-admin and
vm-admin, each of which are authorised to configure and manage various
aspects of the system.
Some settings are inadequately restricted, and can be set by a lower
privilege of administrator than expected.
* CVE-2026-23559: A vm-admin can set VBD.other_config:backend-local and
turn arbitrary files in dom0 into VDIs (virtual disks) and give said
disks to a VM they control. This is an arbitrary read and/or modify
of files in dom0.
* CVE-2026-23560: A vm-admin can set VM.other-config:is_system_domain
and mark a VM as a system domain. System domains are ignored and
left running during certain other host/pool operations, and may be
hidden from view in tooling.
* CVE-2026-23561: A vm-admin can set VM.other_config:storage_driver_domain
and mark a VM as the storage domain for a particular host storage
connection (PBD). Shutting down the VM can cause the PBD to be
erroneously marked as unplugged when it is not.
* CVE-2026-23562: Configuration of PCI passthrough is normally
restricted to the pool-admin role. However one API was missing this
check, allowing a vm-admin access to unintended host hardware.
* CVE-2026-42486: A vm-admin can set the VM.platform:hvm_serial
parameter, which should be restricted to the pool-admin role, as it
can allow arbitrary dom0 file write.
XAPI can configure different users with different roles, using Role
Based Access Control. For more details, see:
https://docs.xenserver.com/en-us/xencenter/current-release/rbac-overview.html#rbac-roles
The pool-admin role is fully privileged. Notably, users with this role
can also SSH into the host as root.
The other administrator roles are pool-operator, vm-power-admin and
vm-admin, each of which are authorised to configure and manage various
aspects of the system.
Some settings are inadequately restricted, and can be set by a lower
privilege of administrator than expected.
* CVE-2026-23559: A vm-admin can set VBD.other_config:backend-local and
turn arbitrary files in dom0 into VDIs (virtual disks) and give said
disks to a VM they control. This is an arbitrary read and/or modify
of files in dom0.
* CVE-2026-23560: A vm-admin can set VM.other-config:is_system_domain
and mark a VM as a system domain. System domains are ignored and
left running during certain other host/pool operations, and may be
hidden from view in tooling.
* CVE-2026-23561: A vm-admin can set VM.other_config:storage_driver_domain
and mark a VM as the storage domain for a particular host storage
connection (PBD). Shutting down the VM can cause the PBD to be
erroneously marked as unplugged when it is not.
* CVE-2026-23562: Configuration of PCI passthrough is normally
restricted to the pool-admin role. However one API was missing this
check, allowing a vm-admin access to unintended host hardware.
* CVE-2026-42486: A vm-admin can set the VM.platform:hvm_serial
parameter, which should be restricted to the pool-admin role, as it
can allow arbitrary dom0 file write.
References
Internet-facing
14 days
Internal
At next upgrade
- Not known to be exploited
- Needs hands-on effort to exploit
- Gives an attacker full control
Severity
9.4
Critical
Type
CWE-250Execution with Unnecessary Privileges
Timeline
Published9 Jul 2026
Updated26 Oct 2026
First seen9 Jul 2026
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