Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2021-47082
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 · uneditedIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tun: avoid double free in tun_free_netdev Avoid double free in tun_free_netdev() by moving the dev->tstats and tun->security allocs to a new ndo_init routine (tun_net_init()) that will be called by register_netdevice(). ndo_init is paired with the desctructor (tun_free_netdev()), so if there's an error in register_netdevice() the destructor will handle the frees. BUG: KASAN: double-free or invalid-free in selinux_tun_dev_free_security+0x1a/0x20 security/selinux/hooks.c:5605 CPU: 0 PID: 25750 Comm: syz-executor416 Not tainted 5.16.0-rc2-syzk #1 Hardware name: Red Hat KVM, BIOS Call Trace: <TASK> __dump_stack lib/dump_stack.c:88 [inline] dump_stack_lvl+0x89/0xb5 lib/dump_stack.c:106 print_address_description.constprop.9+0x28/0x160 mm/kasan/report.c:247 kasan_report_invalid_free+0x55/0x80 mm/kasan/report.c:372 ____kasan_slab_free mm/kasan/common.c:346 [inline] __kasan_slab_free+0x107/0x120 mm/kasan/common.c:374 kasan_slab_free include/linux/kasan.h:235 [inline] slab_free_hook mm/slub.c:1723 [inline] slab_free_freelist_hook mm/slub.c:1749 [inline] slab_free mm/slub.c:3513 [inline] kfree+0xac/0x2d0 mm/slub.c:4561 selinux_tun_dev_free_security+0x1a/0x20 security/selinux/hooks.c:5605 security_tun_dev_free_security+0x4f/0x90 security/security.c:2342 tun_free_netdev+0xe6/0x150 drivers/net/tun.c:2215 netdev_run_todo+0x4df/0x840 net/core/dev.c:10627 rtnl_unlock+0x13/0x20 net/core/rtnetlink.c:112 __tun_chr_ioctl+0x80c/0x2870 drivers/net/tun.c:3302 tun_chr_ioctl+0x2f/0x40 drivers/net/tun.c:3311 vfs_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:51 [inline] __do_sys_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:874 [inline] __se_sys_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:860 [inline] __x64_sys_ioctl+0x19d/0x220 fs/ioctl.c:860 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:50 [inline] do_syscall_64+0x3a/0x80 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xae
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 analysisThe same block of memory is freed twice, corrupting the allocator's bookkeeping in ways an attacker can shape toward code execution. It usually stems from tangled ownership of a pointer. The fix is clear, single ownership of each allocation and clearing pointers once they are freed.
General guidance for the double free 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
< 4.19.280>= 4.20, < 5.4.240>= 5.5, < 5.10.136>= 5.11, < 5.15.12= 5.16CVSS 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
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 · scoped4.19.2805.4.2405.10.136
Linux kernel >= 4.19.280, >= 5.4.240, >= 5.10.136, or >= 5.15.12 (depending on which branch you are on)
- Identify the currently running kernel version using 'uname -r' or 'cat /proc/version'
- Determine which branch the current kernel version belongs to (4.19.y, 5.4.y, 5.10.y, or 5.15.y)
- For 4.19.y kernels: upgrade to kernel version 4.19.280 or later
- For 5.4.y kernels: upgrade to kernel version 5.4.240 or later
- For 5.10.y kernels: upgrade to kernel version 5.10.136 or later
- For 5.11-5.15.y kernels: upgrade to kernel version 5.15.12 or later
- Reboot the system to apply the fixed kernel
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-47082 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-47082 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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