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Ethernet 500 Series Controllers DriverApplication · Intel

CVE-2021-33098

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-11-17
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.17.3 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Improper input validation in the Intel(R) Ethernet ixgbe driver for Linux before version 3.17.3 may allow an authenticated user to potentially enable denial of service via local access.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

Improper input validation vulnerability in the Intel(R) Ethernet ixgbe Linux kernel driver before version 3.17.3 allows an authenticated local user to potentially cause a denial of service. The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of input data within the network driver code, which could lead to a system crash or resource exhaustion when specially crafted input is processed.

MitigationUpdate the ixgbe driver to version 3.17.3 or later, or apply the corresponding kernel patch. Since this is a kernel-level driver vulnerability, ensure kernel and driver packages are current and consider kernel hardening measures to limit local privilege escalation risks.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Ethernet 500 Series Controllers DriverApplication
Affected:< 3.17.3

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Determine if ixgbe driver is loaded
    Run 'lsmod | grep ixgbe' or check 'modinfo ixgbe' to see if the driver module is currently loaded or available in the system
    Affected if The driver is loaded and running in the kernel
  2. Identify ixgbe driver version
    Run 'modinfo ixgbe' and look for the 'version:' field, or check the driver file version in /sys/module/ixgbe/version if available
    Affected if The reported version is less than 3.17.3
  3. Check kernel module package version
    For distribution packaged drivers, run 'rpm -q ixgbe' (RHEL/CentOS) or 'dpkg -l | grep ixgbe' (Debian/Ubuntu) to get the packaged driver version
    Affected if The installed package version is less than 3.17.3
  4. Verify driver is actively handling network interfaces
    Run 'ip link show' and 'ethtool -i <interface>' on Ethernet interfaces to confirm ixgbe is the active driver for any network interface
    Affected if Any interface uses the ixgbe driver and the driver version is below 3.17.3

The system is affected if the ixgbe kernel driver is loaded and its version is below 3.17.3, as this allows a local authenticated user to trigger the input validation flaw causing denial of service.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 3.17.3 or later
Fixed in 3.17.3
Interim mitigation

Update the ixgbe driver to version 3.17.3 or later, or apply the corresponding kernel patch. Since this is a kernel-level driver vulnerability, ensure kernel and driver packages are current and consider kernel hardening measures to limit local privilege escalation risks.

Recommended fix High confidence

ixgbe driver version 3.17.3

  1. Identify the current ixgbe driver version using 'modinfo ixgbe' or 'ethtool -i <interface>'
  2. Download the ixgbe driver version 3.17.3 or later from the Intel support website or Linux kernel source
  3. Install the new driver module using 'make install' or your distribution's package manager
  4. Unload the old driver with 'rmmod ixgbe' if currently loaded
  5. Load the new driver with 'modprobe ixgbe' or reboot the system
  6. Verify the installed version matches 3.17.3 or later using 'modinfo ixgbe'

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Ethernet 500 Series Controllers Driver Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,408.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-33098 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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