6.5
MEDIUM CVSS 3.1
CVE-2026-42490
domctl lock open to abuse
Description

[This CNA information record relates to multiple CVEs; the text explains which aspects/vulnerabilities correspond to which CVE.] To create and manage guests, domctl operations are used by the control domain, a possible Xenstore domain, or by a domain controlling a particular guest. Some of these operations may not be executed in parallel, so a system-wide lock is used. The way that lock is acquired is, however, not providing any fairness. This is CVE-2026-42489. Furthermore, with XSM/Flask in use, the lock acquire will, for some operations, occur ahead of any permission checking. This is CVE-2026-42490.

INFO

Published Date :

June 18, 2026, 2:17 p.m.

Last Modified :

June 22, 2026, 6:38 p.m.

Remotely Exploit :

Yes !
Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2026-42490 vulnerability. Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the products that are affected, the information is not represented in the table below.

ID Vendor Product Action
1 Xen xen
CVSS Scores
The Common Vulnerability Scoring System is a standardized framework for assessing the severity of vulnerabilities in software and systems. We collect and displays CVSS scores from various sources for each CVE.
Score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Score Impact Score Source
CVSS 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
CVSS 3.1 MEDIUM 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
Solution
Implement a fair lock acquisition mechanism and enforce permission checks before acquiring locks.
  • Update the system to ensure fair lock acquisition.
  • Apply patches that enforce permission checks before lock acquisition.
  • Review Xenstore and domctl operation security.
  • Consider alternative locking mechanisms if necessary.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools

Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to CVE-2026-42490.

URL Resource
https://xenbits.xenproject.org/xsa/advisory-492.html
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-42490 is associated with the following CWEs:

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC) stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-42490 weaknesses.

We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).

Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.

The following list is the news that have been mention CVE-2026-42490 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2026-42490 vulnerability over time.

Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.

  • CVE Modified by 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

    Jun. 18, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
    Added CWE CWE-667
    Added SSVC {'id': 'CVE-2026-42490', 'role': 'CISA Coordinator', 'options': [{'exploitation': 'none'}, {'automatable': 'no'}, {'technicalImpact': 'partial'}], 'version': '2.0.3', 'timestamp': '2026-06-18T15:04:47.308725Z'}
  • New CVE Received by [email protected]

    Jun. 18, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Affected [{'vendor': 'Xen', 'product': 'Xen', 'versions': [{'status': 'unknown', 'version': 'consult Xen advisory XSA-492'}], 'defaultStatus': 'unknown'}]
    Added Description [This CNA information record relates to multiple CVEs; the text explains which aspects/vulnerabilities correspond to which CVE.] To create and manage guests, domctl operations are used by the control domain, a possible Xenstore domain, or by a domain controlling a particular guest. Some of these operations may not be executed in parallel, so a system-wide lock is used. The way that lock is acquired is, however, not providing any fairness. This is CVE-2026-42489. Furthermore, with XSM/Flask in use, the lock acquire will, for some operations, occur ahead of any permission checking. This is CVE-2026-42490.
    Added Reference https://xenbits.xenproject.org/xsa/advisory-492.html
EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days. Following chart shows the EPSS score history of the vulnerability.