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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2021-47222

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-05-21
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.14.238 / 4.19.196 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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: net: bridge: fix vlan tunnel dst refcnt when egressing The egress tunnel code uses dst_clone() and directly sets the result which is wrong because the entry might have 0 refcnt or be already deleted, causing number of problems. It also triggers the WARN_ON() in dst_hold()[1] when a refcnt couldn't be taken. Fix it by using dst_hold_safe() and checking if a reference was actually taken before setting the dst. [1] dmesg WARN_ON log and following refcnt errors WARNING: CPU: 5 PID: 38 at include/net/dst.h:230 br_handle_egress_vlan_tunnel+0x10b/0x134 [bridge] Modules linked in: 8021q garp mrp bridge stp llc bonding ipv6 virtio_net CPU: 5 PID: 38 Comm: ksoftirqd/5 Kdump: loaded Tainted: G W 5.13.0-rc3+ #360 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.14.0-1.fc33 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:br_handle_egress_vlan_tunnel+0x10b/0x134 [bridge] Code: e8 85 bc 01 e1 45 84 f6 74 90 45 31 f6 85 db 48 c7 c7 a0 02 19 a0 41 0f 94 c6 31 c9 31 d2 44 89 f6 e8 64 bc 01 e1 85 db 75 02 <0f> 0b 31 c9 31 d2 44 89 f6 48 c7 c7 70 02 19 a0 e8 4b bc 01 e1 49 RSP: 0018:ffff8881003d39e8 EFLAGS: 00010246 RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: 0000000000000000 RCX: 0000000000000000 RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 0000000000000001 RDI: ffffffffa01902a0 RBP: ffff8881040c6700 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000001 R10: 2ce93d0054fe0d00 R11: 54fe0d00000e0000 R12: ffff888109515000 R13: 0000000000000000 R14: 0000000000000001 R15: 0000000000000401 FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff88822bf40000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 00007f42ba70f030 CR3: 0000000109926000 CR4: 00000000000006e0 Call Trace: br_handle_vlan+0xbc/0xca [bridge] __br_forward+0x23/0x164 [bridge] deliver_clone+0x41/0x48 [bridge] br_handle_frame_finish+0x36f/0x3aa [bridge] ? skb_dst+0x2e/0x38 [bridge] ? br_handle_ingress_vlan_tunnel+0x3e/0x1c8 [bridge] ? br_handle_frame_finish+0x3aa/0x3aa [bridge] br_handle_frame+0x2c3/0x377 [bridge] ? __skb_pull+0x33/0x51 ? vlan_do_receive+0x4f/0x36a ? br_handle_frame_finish+0x3aa/0x3aa [bridge] __netif_receive_skb_core+0x539/0x7c6 ? __list_del_entry_valid+0x16e/0x1c2 __netif_receive_skb_list_core+0x6d/0xd6 netif_receive_skb_list_internal+0x1d9/0x1fa gro_normal_list+0x22/0x3e dev_gro_receive+0x55b/0x600 ? detach_buf_split+0x58/0x140 napi_gro_receive+0x94/0x12e virtnet_poll+0x15d/0x315 [virtio_net] __napi_poll+0x2c/0x1c9 net_rx_action+0xe6/0x1fb __do_softirq+0x115/0x2d8 run_ksoftirqd+0x18/0x20 smpboot_thread_fn+0x183/0x19c ? smpboot_unregister_percpu_thread+0x66/0x66 kthread+0x10a/0x10f ? kthread_mod_delayed_work+0xb6/0xb6 ret_from_fork+0x22/0x30 ---[ end trace 49f61b07f775fd2b ]--- dst_release: dst:00000000c02d677a refcnt:-1 dst_release underflow

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-416

Memory is used after it has been freed, so its contents — now potentially attacker-controlled — drive the program's behaviour. With careful heap grooming this becomes code execution. The fix requires disciplined ownership of memory and often a targeted rework of the object lifecycle.

General guidance for the use after 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
Affected:>= 4.11, < 4.14.238>= 4.15, < 4.19.196>= 4.20, < 5.4.128>= 5.5, < 5.10.46>= 5.11, < 5.12.13= 5.13

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

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 4.14.238 / 4.19.196 / 5.4.128 or later
Fixed in 4.14.2384.19.1965.4.128
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to kernel 4.14.238+ (if on 4.14.x), 4.19.196+ (if on 4.19.x), 5.4.128+ (if on 5.4.x), or 5.10.46+ (if on 5.10.x)

  1. Identify the currently running Linux kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. Determine which version branch your current kernel belongs to (e.g., 4.14.x, 4.19.x, 5.4.x, or 5.10.x)
  3. Upgrade the Linux kernel to a version >= the first fixed version in your branch: for 4.14.x upgrade to >= 4.14.238, for 4.19.x upgrade to >= 4.19.196, for 5.4.x upgrade to >= 5.4.128, for 5.10.x upgrade to >= 5.10.46
  4. Reboot the system to load the patched kernel
  5. Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version and confirming the br_handle_egress_vlan_tunnel function no longer triggers the dst_hold warning
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebuilding third-party kernel modules (e.g., proprietary drivers) and should be tested in a 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 $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-2021-47222 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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