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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2021-47041

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-02-28
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.4.119 / 5.10.37 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click Patch available

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
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nvmet-tcp: fix incorrect locking in state_change sk callback We are not changing anything in the TCP connection state so we should not take a write_lock but rather a read lock. This caused a deadlock when running nvmet-tcp and nvme-tcp on the same system, where state_change callbacks on the host and on the controller side have causal relationship and made lockdep report on this with blktests: ================================ WARNING: inconsistent lock state 5.12.0-rc3 #1 Tainted: G I -------------------------------- inconsistent {IN-SOFTIRQ-W} -> {SOFTIRQ-ON-R} usage. nvme/1324 [HC0[0]:SC0[0]:HE1:SE1] takes: ffff888363151000 (clock-AF_INET){++-?}-{2:2}, at: nvme_tcp_state_change+0x21/0x150 [nvme_tcp] {IN-SOFTIRQ-W} state was registered at: __lock_acquire+0x79b/0x18d0 lock_acquire+0x1ca/0x480 _raw_write_lock_bh+0x39/0x80 nvmet_tcp_state_change+0x21/0x170 [nvmet_tcp] tcp_fin+0x2a8/0x780 tcp_data_queue+0xf94/0x1f20 tcp_rcv_established+0x6ba/0x1f00 tcp_v4_do_rcv+0x502/0x760 tcp_v4_rcv+0x257e/0x3430 ip_protocol_deliver_rcu+0x69/0x6a0 ip_local_deliver_finish+0x1e2/0x2f0 ip_local_deliver+0x1a2/0x420 ip_rcv+0x4fb/0x6b0 __netif_receive_skb_one_core+0x162/0x1b0 process_backlog+0x1ff/0x770 __napi_poll.constprop.0+0xa9/0x5c0 net_rx_action+0x7b3/0xb30 __do_softirq+0x1f0/0x940 do_softirq+0xa1/0xd0 __local_bh_enable_ip+0xd8/0x100 ip_finish_output2+0x6b7/0x18a0 __ip_queue_xmit+0x706/0x1aa0 __tcp_transmit_skb+0x2068/0x2e20 tcp_write_xmit+0xc9e/0x2bb0 __tcp_push_pending_frames+0x92/0x310 inet_shutdown+0x158/0x300 __nvme_tcp_stop_queue+0x36/0x270 [nvme_tcp] nvme_tcp_stop_queue+0x87/0xb0 [nvme_tcp] nvme_tcp_teardown_admin_queue+0x69/0xe0 [nvme_tcp] nvme_do_delete_ctrl+0x100/0x10c [nvme_core] nvme_sysfs_delete.cold+0x8/0xd [nvme_core] kernfs_fop_write_iter+0x2c7/0x460 new_sync_write+0x36c/0x610 vfs_write+0x5c0/0x870 ksys_write+0xf9/0x1d0 do_syscall_64+0x33/0x40 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xae irq event stamp: 10687 hardirqs last enabled at (10687): [<ffffffff9ec376bd>] _raw_spin_unlock_irqrestore+0x2d/0x40 hardirqs last disabled at (10686): [<ffffffff9ec374d8>] _raw_spin_lock_irqsave+0x68/0x90 softirqs last enabled at (10684): [<ffffffff9f000608>] __do_softirq+0x608/0x940 softirqs last disabled at (10649): [<ffffffff9cdedd31>] do_softirq+0xa1/0xd0 other info that might help us debug this: Possible unsafe locking scenario: CPU0 ---- lock(clock-AF_INET); <Interrupt> lock(clock-AF_INET); *** DEADLOCK *** 5 locks held by nvme/1324: #0: ffff8884a01fe470 (sb_writers#4){.+.+}-{0:0}, at: ksys_write+0xf9/0x1d0 #1: ffff8886e435c090 (&of->mutex){+.+.}-{3:3}, at: kernfs_fop_write_iter+0x216/0x460 #2: ffff888104d90c38 (kn->active#255){++++}-{0:0}, at: kernfs_remove_self+0x22d/0x330 #3: ffff8884634538d0 (&queue->queue_lock){+.+.}-{3:3}, at: nvme_tcp_stop_queue+0x52/0xb0 [nvme_tcp] #4: ffff888363150d30 (sk_lock-AF_INET){+.+.}-{0:0}, at: inet_shutdown+0x59/0x300 stack backtrace: CPU: 26 PID: 1324 Comm: nvme Tainted: G I 5.12.0-rc3 #1 Hardware name: Dell Inc. PowerEdge R640/06NR82, BIOS 2.10.0 11/12/2020 Call Trace: dump_stack+0x93/0xc2 mark_lock_irq.cold+0x2c/0xb3 ? verify_lock_unused+0x390/0x390 ? stack_trace_consume_entry+0x160/0x160 ? lock_downgrade+0x100/0x100 ? save_trace+0x88/0x5e0 ? _raw_spin_unlock_irqrestore+0x2d/0x40 mark_lock+0x530/0x1470 ? mark_lock_irq+0x1d10/0x1d10 ? enqueue_timer+0x660/0x660 mark_usage+0x215/0x2a0 __lock_acquire+0x79b/0x18d0 ? tcp_schedule_loss_probe.part.0+0x38c/0x520 lock_acquire+0x1ca/0x480 ? nvme_tcp_state_change+0x21/0x150 [nvme_tcp] ? rcu_read_unlock+0x40/0x40 ? tcp_mtu_probe+0x1ae0/0x1ae0 ? kmalloc_reserve+0xa0/0xa0 ? sysfs_file_ops+0x170/0x170 _raw_read_lock+0x3d/0xa0 ? nvme_tcp_state_change+0x21/0x150 [nvme_tcp] nvme_tcp_state_change+0x21/0x150 [nvme_tcp] ? sysfs_file_ops ---truncated---

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
How this class of weakness works · CWE-667

Shared resources are accessed without correct locking, so concurrent operations interleave into inconsistent — and sometimes exploitable — states, or deadlock the service outright. These bugs are subtle and timing-dependent. The fix is correct, consistent locking or atomic operations around every shared resource.

General guidance for the improper locking class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

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:>= 5.0, < 5.4.119>= 5.5, < 5.10.37>= 5.11, < 5.11.21>= 5.12, < 5.12.4

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

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 5.4.119 / 5.10.37 / 5.11.21 or later
Fixed in 5.4.1195.10.375.11.21
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

5.4.119, 5.10.37, 5.11.21, or 5.12.4 (or later stable releases in each respective branch)

  1. Upgrade the Linux kernel to version 5.4.119 or later for the 5.4.x stable branch
  2. Alternatively, upgrade to version 5.10.37 or later for the 5.10.x stable branch
  3. Alternatively, upgrade to version 5.11.21 or later for the 5.11.x stable branch
  4. Alternatively, upgrade to version 5.12.4 or later for the 5.12.x stable branch
  5. After upgrading, verify the system boots correctly and nvmet-tcp/nvme-tcp functionality works as expected
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require system reboot and could have compatibility implications with custom kernel modules or specific hardware drivers; test in non-production environment first

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

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $1,600. Get the upgrade done

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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

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