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CVE Record

CVE-2026-23562: Multiple RBAC issues in XAPI

[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.

CriticalCVSS 9.4Not KEV-listedUpdated
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysiscritical

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2026-23562 is an authorization failure in Xen XAPI RBAC. A lower-privileged vm-admin could access PCI passthrough configuration that should be limited to pool-admins, potentially exposing host hardware to unintended control.

Executive priority

Treat this as urgent for Xen/XAPI environments with delegated administrators. The risk is privilege boundary failure between VM administration and host hardware control, but the prompt lacks evidence of internet-scale exploitation.

Technical view

XAPI incorrectly omits a pool-admin authorization check on one PCI passthrough API. The issue is classified as CWE-250 and has CVSS 4.0 score 9.4. The prompt does not provide fixed versions, patch details, or affected product editions beyond Xen XAPI.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most relevant where Xen XAPI RBAC is enabled and vm-admin users exist. Systems using PCI passthrough or delegating VM administration to separate teams deserve priority review.

Exploitation context

The provided sources do not show KEV listing or confirmed active exploitation. Exploitation requires an actor able to use vm-admin-level XAPI access; the impact is unintended access to host hardware through PCI passthrough configuration.

Researcher notes

The CVE is part of a broader XAPI RBAC advisory covering several over-permissive settings. For CVE-2026-23562, focus on the missing authorization check around PCI passthrough APIs and role separation between vm-admin and pool-admin.

Mitigation direction

  • Review Xen XSA-489 and apply vendor-recommended updates or mitigations.
  • Limit vm-admin assignments to trusted administrators until fixed.
  • Review PCI passthrough configuration for unauthorized or unexpected device exposure.
  • Audit RBAC role assignments and remove unnecessary delegated admin rights.
  • Monitor XAPI management activity for PCI passthrough changes.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Xen XAPI deployments and identify systems using RBAC.
  • List users or integrations with vm-admin permissions.
  • Review management logs for recent PCI passthrough configuration changes.
  • Compare installed versions against Xen XSA-489 guidance when available.
  • Confirm vm-admin accounts cannot configure PCI passthrough after remediation.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
4

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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ATT&CK lookup starting points

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cwe · low confidence lookup

CWE-250: Exact CWE lookup

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Open ATT&CK lookup
cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2026-23562 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Critical
CVSS
9.4 (4.0)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H

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.

1CVSS vectors
3Timeline events
1ADP providers
2Source links

SSVC decision data

CISA-ADPCISA Coordinator
Timestamp
Version
2.0.3
Exploitation: noneAutomatable: noTechnical Impact: total

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
9.4CVSS 4.0CriticalCVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:HXEN

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 4.0 score

9.4Critical
CVSS 4.0 vector shape for CVE-2026-23562Attack VectorAttack ComplexityAttack RequirementsPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionVS ConfidentialityVS IntegrityVS AvailabilitySS ConfidentialitySS IntegritySS Availability

Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Attack Requirements
NonePresent
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NonePassiveActive
VS Confidentiality
HighLowNone
VS Integrity
HighLowNone
VS Availability
HighLowNone
SS Confidentiality
HighLowNone
SS Integrity
HighLowNone
SS Availability
HighLowNone

Vulnerability timeline

Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.

  1. CVE reservedCVE Program

    The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.

  2. CVE publishedCVE Program

    The CVE record was published.

  3. CVE updatedCVE Program

    The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.

ADP provider summaries

CISA-ADPCISA ADP Vulnrichment
other:ssvc

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
XenXAPIallunaffected
Weakness

CWE details

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.

CWE-250 · source CWE mapping

Execution with Unnecessary Privileges

Execution with Unnecessary Privileges represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.