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CVE Record

CVE-2021-28699: inadequate grant-v2 status frames array bounds check The v2 grant table interface separates grant attribute...

inadequate grant-v2 status frames array bounds check The v2 grant table interface separates grant attributes from grant status. That is, when operating in this mode, a guest has two tables. As a result, guests also need to be able to retrieve the addresses that the new status tracking table can be accessed through. For 32-bit guests on x86, translation of requests has to occur because the interface structure layouts commonly differ between 32- and 64-bit. The translation of the request to obtain the frame numbers of the grant status table involves translating the resulting array of frame numbers. Since the space used to carry out the translation is limited, the translation layer tells the core function the capacity of the array within translation space. Unfortunately the core function then only enforces array bounds to be below 8 times the specified value, and would write past the available space if enough frame numbers needed storing.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysishigh

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2021-28699 is a Xen hypervisor bug in grant-table handling. A guest can cause Xen’s 32-bit x86 request translation path to write beyond a temporary array while returning grant status frame numbers. This is a virtualization boundary issue, so affected Xen hosts deserve prompt review even though the source bundle does not provide a CVSS score.

Executive priority

Treat this as high priority for Xen infrastructure because it crosses the guest-to-hypervisor trust boundary. There is no source-backed evidence of active exploitation, so urgency should focus on patch exposure rather than incident assumptions.

Technical view

The v2 grant table interface separates grant attributes and status. For 32-bit x86 guests, Xen translates grant status frame requests between 32-bit and 64-bit layouts. The core function enforces bounds below eight times the translation buffer capacity, allowing an out-of-bounds write when enough frame numbers are returned.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely on Xen-based virtualization hosts using affected Xen versions, especially x86 environments that support 32-bit guests and grant table v2. The bundle identifies Xen 4.11.x and xen-unstable as affected, but distribution advisory scope must be checked for packaged backports.

Exploitation context

The bundle does not cite active exploitation, and KEV status is false. The issue appears guest-triggerable through Xen hypervisor grant-table request handling. Impact details are incomplete in the provided sources, but an out-of-bounds hypervisor write is a serious isolation risk.

Researcher notes

Evidence is strongest for the vulnerable code path and affected Xen context, but incomplete on practical exploitability and final impact. Avoid assuming guest escape or denial-of-service outcomes unless confirmed by the Xen advisory or vendor errata.

Mitigation direction

  • Review Xen XSA-382 and applicable distribution advisories.
  • Apply vendor Xen security updates from Debian, Fedora, Gentoo, or upstream Xen.
  • Prioritize shared virtualization hosts and systems accepting untrusted guest workloads.
  • Check vendor guidance for any supported temporary mitigations.
  • Retire or restrict affected Xen versions where patches are unavailable.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Xen hypervisor versions across virtualization hosts.
  • Identify x86 hosts that support 32-bit guests.
  • Confirm whether packaged Xen builds include the XSA-382 fix.
  • Review change records for Debian DSA-4977, Fedora, and Gentoo updates.
  • Verify no hosts remain on affected Xen 4.11.x builds.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
8

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

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CVE-2021-28699 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

0CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
7Source links

CVSS and timeline data

No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
Xenxenunspecified, 4.11.x, next of xen-unstableListed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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