For a brief summary of Xapi terminology, see:

https://xapi-project.github.io/xen-api/overview.html#object-model-overview

Xapi contains functionality to backup and restore metadata about Virtual
Machines and Storage Repositories (SRs).

The metadata itself is stored in a Virtual Disk Image (VDI) inside an
SR. This is used for two purposes; a general backup of metadata
(e.g. to recover from a host failure if the filer is still good), and
Portable SRs (e.g. using an external hard drive to move VMs to another
host).

Metadata is only restored as an explicit administrator action, but
occurs in cases where the host has no information about the SR, and must
locate the metadata VDI in order to retrieve the metadata.

The metadata VDI is located by searching (in UUID alphanumeric order)
each VDI, mounting it, and seeing if there is a suitable metadata file
present. The first matching VDI is deemed to be the metadata VDI, and
is restored from.

In the general case, the content of VDIs are controlled by the VM owner,
and should not be trusted by the host administrator.

A malicious guest can manipulate its disk to appear to be a metadata
backup.

A guest cannot choose the UUIDs of its VDIs, but a guest with one disk
has a 50% chance of sorting ahead of the legitimate metadata backup. A
guest with two disks has a 75% chance, etc.
Advisories
Source ID Title
EUVD EUVD EUVD-2024-29054 For a brief summary of Xapi terminology, see: https://xapi-project.github.io/xen-api/overview.html#object-model-overview Xapi contains functionality to backup and restore metadata about Virtual Machines and Storage Repositories (SRs). The metadata itself is stored in a Virtual Disk Image (VDI) inside an SR. This is used for two purposes; a general backup of metadata (e.g. to recover from a host failure if the filer is still good), and Portable SRs (e.g. using an external hard drive to move VMs to another host). Metadata is only restored as an explicit administrator action, but occurs in cases where the host has no information about the SR, and must locate the metadata VDI in order to retrieve the metadata. The metadata VDI is located by searching (in UUID alphanumeric order) each VDI, mounting it, and seeing if there is a suitable metadata file present. The first matching VDI is deemed to be the metadata VDI, and is restored from. In the general case, the content of VDIs are controlled by the VM owner, and should not be trusted by the host administrator. A malicious guest can manipulate its disk to appear to be a metadata backup. A guest cannot choose the UUIDs of its VDIs, but a guest with one disk has a 50% chance of sorting ahead of the legitimate metadata backup. A guest with two disks has a 75% chance, etc.
Fixes

Solution

No solution given by the vendor.


Workaround

Not using the metadata restore functionality avoids the vulnerability.

History

Mon, 14 Jul 2025 13:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics epss

{'score': 0.00019}

epss

{'score': 0.00021}


Sat, 26 Apr 2025 20:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
References

Tue, 18 Feb 2025 15:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 3.8, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:N'}

ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}


Fri, 14 Feb 2025 21:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
References

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 20:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description For a brief summary of Xapi terminology, see: https://xapi-project.github.io/xen-api/overview.html#object-model-overview Xapi contains functionality to backup and restore metadata about Virtual Machines and Storage Repositories (SRs). The metadata itself is stored in a Virtual Disk Image (VDI) inside an SR. This is used for two purposes; a general backup of metadata (e.g. to recover from a host failure if the filer is still good), and Portable SRs (e.g. using an external hard drive to move VMs to another host). Metadata is only restored as an explicit administrator action, but occurs in cases where the host has no information about the SR, and must locate the metadata VDI in order to retrieve the metadata. The metadata VDI is located by searching (in UUID alphanumeric order) each VDI, mounting it, and seeing if there is a suitable metadata file present. The first matching VDI is deemed to be the metadata VDI, and is restored from. In the general case, the content of VDIs are controlled by the VM owner, and should not be trusted by the host administrator. A malicious guest can manipulate its disk to appear to be a metadata backup. A guest cannot choose the UUIDs of its VDIs, but a guest with one disk has a 50% chance of sorting ahead of the legitimate metadata backup. A guest with two disks has a 75% chance, etc.
Title Xapi: Metadata injection attack against backup/restore functionality
References

Projects

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cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: XEN

Published:

Updated: 2025-04-26T20:03:17.226Z

Reserved: 2024-03-28T18:14:12.892Z

Link: CVE-2024-31144

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2025-04-26T20:03:17.226Z

cve-icon NVD

Status : Awaiting Analysis

Published: 2025-02-14T21:15:15.107

Modified: 2025-04-26T20:15:31.833

Link: CVE-2024-31144

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

No data.

Weaknesses

No weakness.