HOMEVULNERABILITIESCVE-2020-35517
HIGH

CVE-2020-35517

CWE-269Published: January 28, 2021· Updated: Jun 17, 2026

8.2
CVSS v3.1

Official Description

A flaw was found in qemu. A host privilege escalation issue was found in the virtio-fs shared file system daemon where a privileged guest user is able to create a device special file in the shared directory and use it to r/w access host devices.

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2020-35517 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

Exploitability
Attack VectorLocal
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges Req.High
User InteractionNone
ScopeChanged
Impact
ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityHigh
AvailabilityHigh
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected Vendors & Products

qemu1 product(s)
qemu
Source: NVD CPE · 1 total CPE entries

Exploit & PoC Resources

NO KNOWN EXPLOITNo public exploit confirmed at this time
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Official Patches & Advisories

All References (12)

https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1915823Issue Tracking · Patch · Third Party Advisory
https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/qemu-devel/2021-01/msg05461.htmlExploit · Mailing List · Patch · Third Party Advisory
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/01/22/1Exploit · Mailing List · Patch · Third Party Advisory
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1915823Issue Tracking · Patch · Third Party Advisory
https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/qemu-devel/2021-01/msg05461.htmlExploit · Mailing List · Patch · Third Party Advisory
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/01/22/1Exploit · Mailing List · Patch · Third Party Advisory

Quick Facts

CVE IDCVE-2020-35517
CVSS Score8.2 / 10
SeverityHIGH
WeaknessCWE-269
CISA KEVNo
Affected1 vendor(s)
PublishedJan 28, 2021

Related CVEs (CWE-269)

Recommended Actions

  • Apply vendor patches immediately
  • Monitor CVE-2020-35517 in threat intel feeds
  • Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts
Data sourced from NVD (NIST), CISA KEV, and EPSS (FIRST). Analysis generated by CTIWATCH.COM. CVE data is provided under the NVD usage policy.