diff --git a/docs/system/gdb.rst b/docs/system/gdb.rst index 7d3718deef..9906991b84 100644 --- a/docs/system/gdb.rst +++ b/docs/system/gdb.rst @@ -214,3 +214,18 @@ The memory mode can be checked by sending the following command: ``maintenance packet Qqemu.PhyMemMode:0`` This will change it back to normal memory mode. + +Security considerations +======================= + +Connecting to the GDB socket allows running arbitrary code inside the guest; +in case of the TCG emulation, which is not considered a security boundary, this +also means running arbitrary code on the host. Additionally, when debugging +qemu-user, it allows directly downloading any file readable by QEMU from the +host. + +The GDB socket is not protected by authentication, authorization or encryption. +It is therefore a responsibility of the user to make sure that only authorized +clients can connect to it, e.g., by using a unix socket with proper +permissions, or by opening a TCP socket only on interfaces that are not +reachable by potential attackers.