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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Control guest on slirp-backed host
  2. Exploit
    Generate burst network traffic
  3. Execution
    Trigger wrong-pointer requeue in if_output()
  4. Impact
    Corrupt queue pointers, crash host networking (DoS)

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Bounds checking, write limits
MITRE ATT&CK

2 techniques across 2 tactics: Execution, Privilege Escalation

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Exploitation Conditions

The host must use libslirp user-mode networking (the slirp/slirp4netns backend, as in QEMU user networking or rootless Podman/OpenShift container networking) rather than bridge/tap/passt. Exploitation requires the attacker to already control a guest attached to that virtual network (AV:A), from which burst traffic drives the fast-queue-to-batch-queue session move in if_output() that corrupts the queue pointers. No host authentication or user interaction is needed (PR:N/UI:N). Limiting factors: the attacker must occupy a guest on the libslirp network, the slirp backend must actually be in use, and the impact is confined to availability - the host networking process crashes (DoS) with no confidentiality or integrity loss and no demonstrated code execution.

Impact

This is a medium-severity, availability-only issue rather than a top-priority emergency. The CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H, base 6.5) tells a consistent story: the attacker operates from the adjacent virtual network (a guest), needs no host privileges and no user interaction, and the only impact is loss of host networking availability (C:N/I:N/A:H). Although the tags say 'Buffer Overflow' and 'Memory Corruption' and the CWE is CWE-787 (out-of-bounds write), the description explicitly limits the outcome to a crash of the host networking process (denial of service) - it does not claim code execution, and the C:N/I:N metrics agree, so this should NOT be treated as RCE. No EPSS score, KEV listing, or public exploit was supplied; the only exploit-relevant reference is the upstream fix commit, not proof-of-concept exploit code. The vuln.today decision label is 'this_month', signalling a routine patch cycle rather than act_now/emergency. Net: a legitimate reliability/DoS risk for multi-tenant virtualization and rootless-container hosts using the slirp backend, but not a high-urgency exploitation threat. Note the signals are not conflicting - CVSS, description and decision label all point to a moderate DoS.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker who controls a guest VM or rootless container whose host uses libslirp user-mode networking sends a burst of traffic that forces a session to be moved from the fast queue to the batch queue. The flawed if_output() unlinks and reinserts the wrong packet via ifm->m_nextpkt, corrupting the queue pointers and crashing the host networking process, which severs connectivity for co-hosted guests. No public exploit code was provided in the input; only the upstream fix commit is referenced.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).
No patch listed yet 0.3% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Nov 03, 2026

Queue-pointer corruption in libslirp's if_output() lets a guest on a libslirp user-mode network crash the host-side networking process. When burst traffic forces a session to migrate from the fast queue to the batch queue, the code unlinks and reinserts an arbitrary packet via ifm->m_nextpkt instead of the session queue head, leaving the queue pointers inconsistent; the result is an availability-only denial of service (CVSS 6.5, AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N, C:N/I:N/A:H) with no confidentiality or integrity impact and no demonstrated code execution. Affected deployments are those actually running the slirp/slirp4netns backend - QEMU user networking and rootless Podman/OpenShift container networking among Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, 9 and 10 and OpenShift Container Platform 4 and 5 - while bridge, tap or passt setups are out of scope. Exploitation requires the attacker to already control a guest attached to that virtual network; no public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis, and this is a medium-severity, availability-only issue rather than a top-priority emergency.

RemediationAI

Upstream fix available (PR/commit); released patched version not independently confirmed - the correcting change is commit bad35bd3b529dc47aa109980a69a36da7848ab76 in the libslirp repository at https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/slirp/libslirp/-/commit/bad35bd3b529dc47aa109980a69a36da7848ab76, so apply the libslirp package update once Red Hat publishes errata for RHEL 8, 9, 10 and OpenShift Container Platform 4/5, tracking status via https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-120831 and https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2565425. Where an immediate update is not possible, the effective compensating control is to stop exposing guests through the slirp/slirp4netns backend: switch QEMU guests to a tap/bridge or passt backend, and switch rootless container networking off slirp4netns, accepting the trade-offs - tap/bridge requires elevated host network configuration and no longer gives the unprivileged isolation that slirp provided, while passt is not universally available or supported on older RHEL branches. Because the trigger is guest-generated burst traffic on a libslirp-backed network, restricting membership of that virtual network to trusted guests reduces exposure but does not remove it; the vendor's position that updating the component is the complete fix should be followed.

Affects your stack

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Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

libslirp is the userspace TCP/IP stack used for unprivileged, user-mode networking: QEMU's "-netdev user" backend and slirp4netns, which gives rootless containers a NAT-style network without host privileges. In that model the guest's packets are proxied by a host process that emulates the network, so any memory-safety defect in the stack is reachable from inside the guest. The flaw is an out-of-bounds/incorrect-pointer write (CWE-787) inside if_output(): when a session is moved from the fast queue to the batch queue, the implementation unlinks and reinserts an arbitrary packet using ifm->m_nextpkt rather than the session's queue head. That mis-anchored splice corrupts the queue linkage, so subsequent queue traversal dereferences the wrong packet, and the host networking process terminates. The CPE data confirms Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, 9 and 10 plus OpenShift Container Platform 4 and 5 ship the affected component, consistent with libslirp/slirp4netns being the user-mode networking path in those products. The precise scheduling conditions needed to hit the fast-queue-to-batch-queue transition during burst traffic are only partially characterised in the available sources; what is confirmed is that guest-generated traffic bursts are the trigger and that the impact is confined to host networking-process availability.

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Severity by source

Vendor (redhat) PRIMARY 6.5 MEDIUM
AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
vuln.today AI 6.5 MEDIUM

Attacker is an unprivileged guest on the virtual network (AV:A/PR:N/UI:N) and burst traffic reliably triggers the fault (AC:L); only host networking availability is lost (A:H, C/I:N).

3.1 AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
4.0 AV:A/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Primary rating from Vendor (redhat).

CVSS VectorVendor: redhat

Attack Vector
Adjacent
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

DescriptionCVE.org

A flaw was found in libslirp in if_output(). When moving a session from the fast queue to the batch queue, the code unlinked and reinserted an arbitrary packet via ifm->m_nextpkt instead of the session queue head, corrupting queue pointers. A guest generating burst traffic could crash the host networking process, causing a denial of service.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.3%
Top 81% exploitable
Prevalence
Medium
user-mode networking library in QEMU and rootless containers; common but not default everywhere
Social Media
1
Sightings
Data Quality
5 sources
Confidence: Medium

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity MEDIUM
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.3%
Patch available No
Active threat No
Deciding rule
MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Controlled
Automatable
No
Human Impact· derived
Medium
Technical Impact
Partial

Priority Score

32
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +32
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

A buffer overflow occurs when a program writes more data to a memory buffer than it was allocated to hold, causing the excess data to spill into adjacent memory regions.

Memory corruption occurs when a program writes data beyond the boundaries of allocated memory regions or accesses memory in unintended ways, violating the integrity of the process's address space.

Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.

Affected Products (CPE)CVE.org

cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_enterprise_linux_10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_enterprise_linux_8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_enterprise_linux_9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_openshift_container_platform_4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_openshift_container_platform_4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_openshift_container_platform_4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_openshift_container_platform_5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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7.5 Sep 06

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Out-of-bounds heap read and integer underflow in libslirp's TCP urgent data handler (sosendoob) exposes gigabytes of hos

CVE-2020-10756 MEDIUM
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An out-of-bounds read vulnerability was found in the SLiRP networking implementation of the QEMU emulator. Rated medium

CVE-2020-8608 MEDIUM
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In libslirp 4.1.0, as used in QEMU 4.2.0, tcp_subr.c misuses snprintf return values, leading to a buffer overflow in lat

CVE-2020-7039 MEDIUM
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tcp_emu in tcp_subr.c in libslirp 4.1.0, as used in QEMU 4.2.0, mismanages memory, as demonstrated by IRC DCC commands i

CVE-2020-29129 MEDIUM
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CVE-2021-3595 LOW
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