CVE-2015-8550
CWE-284Published: April 14, 2016· Updated: Jun 17, 2026
Official Description
Xen, when used on a system providing PV backends, allows local guest OS administrators to cause a denial of service (host OS crash) or gain privileges by writing to memory shared between the frontend and backend, aka a double fetch vulnerability.
Technical Analysis
CVE-2015-8550 requires local access, meaning attackers must already have a foothold on the target system.
Exploitation requires high privileges, which limits the exposure to scenarios where an attacker has already gained initial access.
A successful exploit results in complete confidentiality breach (data exposure), full integrity compromise (data manipulation), availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 8.2.
The vulnerability has a "Changed" scope, meaning successful exploitation can impact components beyond the vulnerable component itself — such as the host operating system or adjacent services.
CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown
Affected Vendors & Products
Exploit & PoC Resources
Official Patches & Advisories
All References (22)
Quick Facts
Related CVEs (CWE-284)
Recommended Actions
- →Apply vendor patches immediately
- →Monitor CVE-2015-8550 in threat intel feeds
- →Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts