CVE-2021-20196: debian debian_linux NULL Pointer Dereference
Vulnerability summary
CVE-2021-20196 is a medium (CVSS 6.5) NULL Pointer Dereference vulnerability in debian debian_linux. EPSS estimates a 0.48% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 41.3% of scored vulnerabilities. 1 public exploit is recorded.
Not severe (CVSS 6.5, local access); no exploitation reported by the 5 checked sources
Source freshness unavailable
How is this decided?Advisory lineage
Upstream 0 · Downstream 9 · Related 6Timeline
- 26-05-2021PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
- 03-08-2024Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.
Description
A NULL pointer dereference flaw was found in the floppy disk emulator of QEMU. This issue occurs while processing read/write ioport commands if the selected floppy drive is not initialized with a block device. This flaw allows a privileged guest user to crash the QEMU process on the host, resulting in a denial of service. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to system availability.
CVSS metrics
6 scores · 5 sources · 2 versions- OSV · Red hatEcosystem advisory · calculated3.2LowCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:LDiffers
- OSV · UbuntuEcosystem advisory · calculated6.5MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H
- OSV · DebianEcosystem advisory · calculated6.5MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H
- OSV · AlpineEcosystem advisory · calculated6.5MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H
EPSS trend
Probability
0.48%
Chance of exploitation in the next 30 days
Percentile
41%
Versus all other CVEs
30-day change
No change 0.00 pp
From 0.48% on 04-10-2026
Known exploited
Compare KEV catalogsNot in the CISA KEV catalog.
Not in the ENISA CNW catalog.
Not in the CIRCL catalog.
Public exploits
1 foundExploit Reference (bugs.launchpad.net)
Maturity: unknown
Weaknesses
CWE · root causeAffected systems
Known conditions: local access, low-privilege account, no user interaction (CVSS vector). Other conditions: not stated in public data.
Redhat191 products
- hivex< 0:1.3.18-21.module+el8.4.0+11609+2eba841a
- hivex-debuginfo< 0:1.3.18-21.module+el8.4.0+11609+2eba841a
- hivex-debugsource< 0:1.3.18-21.module+el8.4.0+11609+2eba841a
- hivex-devel< 0:1.3.18-21.module+el8.4.0+11609+2eba841a
- libguestfs< 1:1.44.0-2.module+el8.4.0+10146+75917d2f
Opensuse3 products
- qemu-linux-user&distro=openSUSE Leap 15.3< 5.2.0-150300.109.2
- qemu-testsuite&distro=openSUSE Leap 15.3< 5.2.0-150300.109.4
- qemu&distro=openSUSE Leap 15.3< 5.2.0-150300.109.2
Debian2 products
- qemu< 1:6.2+dfsg-1
- debian_linuxEOL9.0 | 10.0
Ubuntu2 products
- qemu< 2.0.0+dfsg-2ubuntu1.47+esm6 | < 1:2.5+dfsg-5ubuntu10.51+esm4 | < 1:2.11+dfsg-1ubuntu7.39 | < 1:4.2-3ubuntu6.21 | < 1:6.2+dfsg-2ubuntu5
- xenAll versions (No fix recorded)
Alpine1 product
- qemu< 6.1.1-r0
Qemu1 product
- qemu5.2.0
6 vendors · 200 products · Showing 200 of 246
References
23 links- www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/01/28/1X Refsource MISCARTICLEREPORTMailing ListPatchThird Party Advisory
- lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2022/04/msg00002.htmlMailing ListX Refsource MLISTThird Party Advisory
- lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2022/09/msg00008.htmlMailing ListX Refsource MLISTThird Party Advisory
Show all 23 references
- lists.opensuse.org/archives/…Advisory