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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2021-3760

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-02-16
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.4.290 / 4.9.288 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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
A flaw was found in the Linux kernel. A use-after-free vulnerability in the NFC stack can lead to a threat to confidentiality, integrity, and system availability.

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

A use-after-free vulnerability exists in the Linux kernel's NFC (Near Field Communication) subsystem. The flaw allows an attacker to potentially execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service by freeing memory that is still being accessed, leading to corruption of heap memory and potential system compromise.

MitigationApply the kernel security patch for CVE-2021-3760 and update to a patched kernel version. If NFC is not required, consider disabling the NFC kernel module to reduce the attack surface until the patch can be applied.

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
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:>= 4.0, < 4.4.290>= 4.5, < 4.9.288>= 4.10, < 4.14.253>= 4.15, < 4.19.214>= 4.20, < 5.4.156>= 5.5, < 5.10.76>= 5.11, < 5.14.15
FedoraOperating system
Affected:= 34
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 9.0
H300s FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
H500s FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
H700s FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
H300e FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
H500e FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions

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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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. Check the kernel version
    Run 'uname -r' or 'cat /proc/version' to obtain the running kernel version
    Affected if The kernel version falls within any of these ranges: >= 4.0 and < 4.4.290; >= 4.5 and < 4.9.288; >= 4.10 and < 4.14.253; >= 4.15 and < 4.19.214; >= 4.20 and < 5.4.156; >= 5.5 and < 5.10.76; >= 5.11 and < 5.14.15
  2. Check if NFC subsystem is active
    Run 'lsmod | grep -i nfc' to list loaded NFC kernel modules, or check for NFC device entries with 'ls -la /dev/nfc*' or 'cat /sys/class/nfc/'
    Affected if Any NFC modules are loaded or NFC devices are present in the system
  3. Check if NFC kernel modules are available
    List NFC modules in the kernel directory: 'ls /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/kernel/drivers/nfc/' or check kernel config with 'grep -i nfc /boot/config-$(uname -r)'
    Affected if NFC support is compiled as a module or built-in (CONFIG_NFC or related options enabled)
  4. For NetApp systems, identify the model and firmware version
    Check the NetApp H-series model (H300s, H500s, H700s, H300e, or H500e) and obtain firmware version via the device management interface or 'nc admin' command if applicable
    Affected if The system is a NetApp H300s, H500s, H700s, H300e, or H500e device with any firmware version

The environment is affected if the kernel version is within any of the listed vulnerable ranges AND the NFC subsystem is enabled or available on the system, or if it is a NetApp H-series device.

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 4.4.290 / 4.9.288 / 4.14.253 or later
Fixed in 4.4.2904.9.2884.14.253
Interim mitigation

Apply the kernel security patch for CVE-2021-3760 and update to a patched kernel version. If NFC is not required, consider disabling the NFC kernel module to reduce the attack surface until the patch can be applied.

Recommended fix High confidence

Linux Kernel 4.4.290+ / 4.9.288+ / 4.14.253+ / 4.19.214+ depending on your kernel branch; or vendor-supplied kernel update for Debian 9.0 / Fedora 34

  1. Identify the current kernel version using 'uname -r'
  2. For Debian 9.0: Apply Debian Security Advisory DSA-XXXX (check security.debian.org for the specific advisory for this CVE) and upgrade kernel packages via 'apt update && apt upgrade linux-image-*'
  3. For Fedora 34: Apply Fedora updates via 'dnf update' to get the patched kernel
  4. For upstream Linux: Upgrade kernel to version 4.4.290 or newer, OR 4.9.288 or newer, OR 4.14.253 or newer, OR 4.19.214 or newer
  5. For H300s/H500s/H700s/H300e/H500e Firmware: Contact device vendor for firmware update; no vendor patch is currently available in the reference sources
  6. Reboot the system to load the patched kernel
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebuild of third-party kernel modules (e.g., NVIDIA drivers, VirtualBox); firmware devices may lose configuration if factory reset required for update

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

Fix this in Linux Kernel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2021-3760 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data