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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2021-47097

HIGH · 7.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-03-04
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.4.169 / 5.10.89 or later.
See remediation →
73/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Public exploit 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: Input: elantech - fix stack out of bound access in elantech_change_report_id() The array param[] in elantech_change_report_id() must be at least 3 bytes, because elantech_read_reg_params() is calling ps2_command() with PSMOUSE_CMD_GETINFO, that is going to access 3 bytes from param[], but it's defined in the stack as an array of 2 bytes, therefore we have a potential stack out-of-bounds access here, also confirmed by KASAN: [ 6.512374] BUG: KASAN: stack-out-of-bounds in __ps2_command+0x372/0x7e0 [ 6.512397] Read of size 1 at addr ffff8881024d77c2 by task kworker/2:1/118 [ 6.512416] CPU: 2 PID: 118 Comm: kworker/2:1 Not tainted 5.13.0-22-generic #22+arighi20211110 [ 6.512428] Hardware name: LENOVO 20T8000QGE/20T8000QGE, BIOS R1AET32W (1.08 ) 08/14/2020 [ 6.512436] Workqueue: events_long serio_handle_event [ 6.512453] Call Trace: [ 6.512462] show_stack+0x52/0x58 [ 6.512474] dump_stack+0xa1/0xd3 [ 6.512487] print_address_description.constprop.0+0x1d/0x140 [ 6.512502] ? __ps2_command+0x372/0x7e0 [ 6.512516] __kasan_report.cold+0x7d/0x112 [ 6.512527] ? _raw_write_lock_irq+0x20/0xd0 [ 6.512539] ? __ps2_command+0x372/0x7e0 [ 6.512552] kasan_report+0x3c/0x50 [ 6.512564] __asan_load1+0x6a/0x70 [ 6.512575] __ps2_command+0x372/0x7e0 [ 6.512589] ? ps2_drain+0x240/0x240 [ 6.512601] ? dev_printk_emit+0xa2/0xd3 [ 6.512612] ? dev_vprintk_emit+0xc5/0xc5 [ 6.512621] ? __kasan_check_write+0x14/0x20 [ 6.512634] ? mutex_lock+0x8f/0xe0 [ 6.512643] ? __mutex_lock_slowpath+0x20/0x20 [ 6.512655] ps2_command+0x52/0x90 [ 6.512670] elantech_ps2_command+0x4f/0xc0 [psmouse] [ 6.512734] elantech_change_report_id+0x1e6/0x256 [psmouse] [ 6.512799] ? elantech_report_trackpoint.constprop.0.cold+0xd/0xd [psmouse] [ 6.512863] ? ps2_command+0x7f/0x90 [ 6.512877] elantech_query_info.cold+0x6bd/0x9ed [psmouse] [ 6.512943] ? elantech_setup_ps2+0x460/0x460 [psmouse] [ 6.513005] ? psmouse_reset+0x69/0xb0 [psmouse] [ 6.513064] ? psmouse_attr_set_helper+0x2a0/0x2a0 [psmouse] [ 6.513122] ? phys_pmd_init+0x30e/0x521 [ 6.513137] elantech_init+0x8a/0x200 [psmouse] [ 6.513200] ? elantech_init_ps2+0xf0/0xf0 [psmouse] [ 6.513249] ? elantech_query_info+0x440/0x440 [psmouse] [ 6.513296] ? synaptics_send_cmd+0x60/0x60 [psmouse] [ 6.513342] ? elantech_query_info+0x440/0x440 [psmouse] [ 6.513388] ? psmouse_try_protocol+0x11e/0x170 [psmouse] [ 6.513432] psmouse_extensions+0x65d/0x6e0 [psmouse] [ 6.513476] ? psmouse_try_protocol+0x170/0x170 [psmouse] [ 6.513519] ? mutex_unlock+0x22/0x40 [ 6.513526] ? ps2_command+0x7f/0x90 [ 6.513536] ? psmouse_probe+0xa3/0xf0 [psmouse] [ 6.513580] psmouse_switch_protocol+0x27d/0x2e0 [psmouse] [ 6.513624] psmouse_connect+0x272/0x530 [psmouse] [ 6.513669] serio_driver_probe+0x55/0x70 [ 6.513679] really_probe+0x190/0x720 [ 6.513689] driver_probe_device+0x160/0x1f0 [ 6.513697] device_driver_attach+0x119/0x130 [ 6.513705] ? device_driver_attach+0x130/0x130 [ 6.513713] __driver_attach+0xe7/0x1a0 [ 6.513720] ? device_driver_attach+0x130/0x130 [ 6.513728] bus_for_each_dev+0xfb/0x150 [ 6.513738] ? subsys_dev_iter_exit+0x10/0x10 [ 6.513748] ? _raw_write_unlock_bh+0x30/0x30 [ 6.513757] driver_attach+0x2d/0x40 [ 6.513764] serio_handle_event+0x199/0x3d0 [ 6.513775] process_one_work+0x471/0x740 [ 6.513785] worker_thread+0x2d2/0x790 [ 6.513794] ? process_one_work+0x740/0x740 [ 6.513802] kthread+0x1b4/0x1e0 [ 6.513809] ? set_kthread_struct+0x80/0x80 [ 6.513816] ret_from_fork+0x22/0x30 [ 6.513832] The buggy address belongs to the page: [ 6.513838] page:00000000bc35e189 refcount:0 mapcount:0 mapping:0000000000000000 index:0x0 pfn:0x1024d7 [ 6.513847] flags: 0x17ffffc0000000(node=0|zone=2|lastcpupid=0x1fffff) [ 6.513860] raw: 0 ---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-125

The code reads past the end (or before the start) of a buffer, returning memory that was never meant to be exposed. Attackers use it to leak secrets like keys or to defeat memory-protection defences. Remediation is validating indices and lengths before every read.

General guidance for the out-of-bounds read 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:>= 5.4.103, < 5.4.169>= 5.10.21, < 5.10.89>= 5.11, < 5.15.12= 5.16

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
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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 5.4.169 / 5.10.89 / 5.15.12 or later
Fixed in 5.4.1695.10.895.15.12
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux kernel 5.4.169+ / 5.10.89+ / 5.15.12+ / 5.16.1+ (depending on which branch is in use)

  1. Identify the current kernel version using `uname -r` or `cat /proc/version`
  2. Determine which affected version range applies (5.4.x, 5.10.x, 5.11-5.15.x, or 5.16.x)
  3. Upgrade the Linux kernel to a fixed version: 5.4.169 or later for 5.4.x kernels; 5.10.89 or later for 5.10.x kernels; 5.15.12 or later for 5.11-5.15.x kernels; or 5.16.1 or later for 5.16.x kernels
  4. Reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
  5. Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version matches or exceeds the fixed releases
Caveat Kernel upgrades may introduce compatibility changes with older drivers or modules; ensure custom kernel modules are recompiled against the new kernel headers

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 $3,200. 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

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-47097 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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