The KVM subsystem in the Linux kernel before 3.6.9, when running on hosts that use qemu userspace without XSAVE, allows local users to caus…

published 2013-01-22 13 y ago modified 2026-06-16 4 mo ago also EUVD-2012-4390

cvss: 1.9; version 2.0, NVD
cisa kev: Not listed; not in CISA's catalog
epss: 0.4%; EPSS 0.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 29%
public exploits: 0; none known

The KVM subsystem in the Linux kernel before 3.6.9, when running on hosts that use qemu userspace without XSAVE, allows local users to cause a denial of service (kernel OOPS) by using the KVM_SET_SREGS ioctl to set the X86_CR4_OSXSAVE bit in the guest cr4 register, then calling the KVM_RUN ioctl.

Patch / fix

distros 2

debian red hat

linux Debian 14, Debian 13, Debian 12 3.2.35-1

debian advisories DEBIAN-CVE-2012-4461

kernel RHEL 6 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6
perf RHEL 6 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6
python-perf RHEL 6 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6
kernel-kdump RHEL 6 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6
kernel-firmware RHEL 6 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6
kernel-bootwrapper RHEL 6 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6
kernel-debuginfo-common-i686 RHEL 6 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6
kernel-debuginfo-common-ppc64 RHEL 6 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6

red hat advisories RHSA-2013:0882 RHSA-2013:0223

Vendor advisories

What the vendors themselves say about their products: affected, fixed or not affected, and what to do.

red hat product security vex CVE-2012-4461 updated 2026-11-05 cvss 4.7

kernel: kvm: invalid opcode oops on SET_SREGS with OSXSAVE bit set

Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop (v. 6) perf 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6, kernel 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6, kernel-firmware 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6, kernel-debuginfo-common-i686 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6, kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop Optional (v. 6) kernel 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6, python-perf 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6, kernel-debuginfo-common-i686 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6, kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6 Red Hat Enterprise Linux HPC Node (v. 6) perf 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6, kernel 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6, kernel-firmware 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6, kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6 Red Hat Enterprise Linux HPC Node Optional (v. 6) kernel 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6, python-perf 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6, kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 6) perf 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6, kernel 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6, kernel-kdump 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6, kernel-firmware 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6, kernel-bootwrapper 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6, kernel-debuginfo-common-i686 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6, +3 more
fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2013:0223
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server EUS (v. 6.2) perf 2.6.32-220.38.1.el6, kernel 2.6.32-220.38.1.el6, kernel-kdump 2.6.32-220.38.1.el6, kernel-firmware 2.6.32-220.38.1.el6, kernel-bootwrapper 2.6.32-220.38.1.el6, kernel-debuginfo-common-i686 2.6.32-220.38.1.el6, +3 more
fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2013:0882
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional (v. 6) kernel 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6, python-perf 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6, kernel-debuginfo-common-i686 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6, kernel-debuginfo-common-ppc64 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6, kernel-debuginfo-common-s390x 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6, kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6
fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2013:0223
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional EUS (v. 6.2) kernel 2.6.32-220.38.1.el6, python-perf 2.6.32-220.38.1.el6, kernel-debuginfo-common-i686 2.6.32-220.38.1.el6, kernel-debuginfo-common-ppc64 2.6.32-220.38.1.el6, kernel-debuginfo-common-s390x 2.6.32-220.38.1.el6, kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 2.6.32-220.38.1.el6
fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2013:0882
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation (v. 6) perf 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6, kernel 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6, kernel-firmware 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6, kernel-debuginfo-common-i686 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6, kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation Optional (v. 6) kernel 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6, python-perf 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6, kernel-debuginfo-common-i686 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6, kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 2.6.32-279.22.1.el6
fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2013:0223
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 kvm Red Hat Enterprise MRG 2 kernel-rt, mrg-rt-release, kernel-rt-trace, kernel-rt-vanilla, kernel-rt-firmware
not affected: vulnerable code not present

Red Hat CSAF VEX © Red Hat, Inc., from https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/; changed: reduced to product statuses and remediations. CC BY 4.0 · csaf

Exploit prediction

0.36% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 29% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-09).

CVSS scores

assigned by	version	score	vector
NVD	2.0	1.9	AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P

Classification

Technology feeds

Linux kernel rss critical rss

References

rhn.redhat.com /errata/RHSA-2013-0223.html
vendor-advisory
rhn.redhat.com /errata/RHSA-2013-0882.html
vendor-advisory
suse.com /support/update/announcement/2012/suse-su-20121679-1.html
vendor-advisory
lists.opensuse.org /opensuse-security-announce/2013-06/msg00005.html
vendor-advisory
securityfocus.com /bid/56414
vdb-entry
bugzilla.redhat.com /show_bug.cgi?id=862900
secunia.com /advisories/51160
third-party-advisory
git.kernel.org /?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=6d1068b3a98519247d8ba4ec85cd40ac136dbdf9
article.gmane.org /gmane.comp.emulators.kvm.devel/100742
openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2012/11/06/14
mailing-list
kernel.org /pub/linux/kernel/v3.x/ChangeLog-3.6.9

Sources

CVE List CVE-2012-4461
NVD CVE-2012-4461

Fencer Intel keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.

Summary