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[USN-8172-1] kvmtool vulnerabilities

Posted on 13 April 2026
Ubuntu Security

==========================================================================Ubuntu Security Notice USN-8172-1
April 13, 2026

kvmtool vulnerabilities
==========================================================================
A security issue affects these releases of Ubuntu and its derivatives:

- Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
- Ubuntu 20.04 LTS
- Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
- Ubuntu 16.04 LTS

Summary:

Several security issues were fixed in kvmtool.

Software Description:
- kvmtool: Native Linux KVM tool

Details:

It was discovered that kvmtool did not properly manage memory under certain
circumstances. A malicious guest attacker could use this issue to cause
kvmtool to crash, leading to a denial of service, or possibly execute
arbitrary code on the host system. (CVE-2021-45464)

It was discovered that kvmtool incorrectly handled the 9p passthrough file
system. A malicious guest attacker could possibly use this issue to open
special files, escape the exported 9p tree, and execute arbitrary code on
the host system. (CVE-2023-2861)

Update instructions:

The problem can be corrected by updating your system to the following
package versions:

Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
kvmtool 0.20170904-1.1ubuntu0.1~esm2
Available with Ubuntu Pro

Ubuntu 20.04 LTS
kvmtool 0.20170904-1ubuntu0.20.04.1~esm1
Available with Ubuntu Pro

Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
kvmtool 0.20170904-1ubuntu0.18.04.1~esm1
Available with Ubuntu Pro

Ubuntu 16.04 LTS
kvmtool 0.20151104-1ubuntu0.1~esm1
Available with Ubuntu Pro

In general, a standard system update will make all the necessary changes.

References:
https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-8172-1
CVE-2021-45464, CVE-2023-2861

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