Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2021-47275

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-05-21
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.12.11 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: bcache: avoid oversized read request in cache missing code path In the cache missing code path of cached device, if a proper location from the internal B+ tree is matched for a cache miss range, function cached_dev_cache_miss() will be called in cache_lookup_fn() in the following code block, [code block 1] 526 unsigned int sectors = KEY_INODE(k) == s->iop.inode 527 ? min_t(uint64_t, INT_MAX, 528 KEY_START(k) - bio->bi_iter.bi_sector) 529 : INT_MAX; 530 int ret = s->d->cache_miss(b, s, bio, sectors); Here s->d->cache_miss() is the call backfunction pointer initialized as cached_dev_cache_miss(), the last parameter 'sectors' is an important hint to calculate the size of read request to backing device of the missing cache data. Current calculation in above code block may generate oversized value of 'sectors', which consequently may trigger 2 different potential kernel panics by BUG() or BUG_ON() as listed below, 1) BUG_ON() inside bch_btree_insert_key(), [code block 2] 886 BUG_ON(b->ops->is_extents && !KEY_SIZE(k)); 2) BUG() inside biovec_slab(), [code block 3] 51 default: 52 BUG(); 53 return NULL; All the above panics are original from cached_dev_cache_miss() by the oversized parameter 'sectors'. Inside cached_dev_cache_miss(), parameter 'sectors' is used to calculate the size of data read from backing device for the cache missing. This size is stored in s->insert_bio_sectors by the following lines of code, [code block 4] 909 s->insert_bio_sectors = min(sectors, bio_sectors(bio) + reada); Then the actual key inserting to the internal B+ tree is generated and stored in s->iop.replace_key by the following lines of code, [code block 5] 911 s->iop.replace_key = KEY(s->iop.inode, 912 bio->bi_iter.bi_sector + s->insert_bio_sectors, 913 s->insert_bio_sectors); The oversized parameter 'sectors' may trigger panic 1) by BUG_ON() from the above code block. And the bio sending to backing device for the missing data is allocated with hint from s->insert_bio_sectors by the following lines of code, [code block 6] 926 cache_bio = bio_alloc_bioset(GFP_NOWAIT, 927 DIV_ROUND_UP(s->insert_bio_sectors, PAGE_SECTORS), 928 &dc->disk.bio_split); The oversized parameter 'sectors' may trigger panic 2) by BUG() from the agove code block. Now let me explain how the panics happen with the oversized 'sectors'. In code block 5, replace_key is generated by macro KEY(). From the definition of macro KEY(), [code block 7] 71 #define KEY(inode, offset, size) \ 72 ((struct bkey) { \ 73 .high = (1ULL << 63) | ((__u64) (size) << 20) | (inode), \ 74 .low = (offset) \ 75 }) Here 'size' is 16bits width embedded in 64bits member 'high' of struct bkey. But in code block 1, if "KEY_START(k) - bio->bi_iter.bi_sector" is very probably to be larger than (1<<16) - 1, which makes the bkey size calculation in code block 5 is overflowed. In one bug report the value of parameter 'sectors' is 131072 (= 1 << 17), the overflowed 'sectors' results the overflowed s->insert_bio_sectors in code block 4, then makes size field of s->iop.replace_key to be 0 in code block 5. Then the 0- sized s->iop.replace_key is inserted into the internal B+ tree as cache missing check key (a special key to detect and avoid a racing between normal write request and cache missing read request) as, [code block 8] 915 ret = bch_btree_insert_check_key(b, &s->op, &s->iop.replace_key); Then the 0-sized s->iop.replace_key as 3rd parameter triggers the bkey size check BUG_ON() in code block 2, and causes the kernel panic 1). Another ke ---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

A detailed technical summary for this CVE is being prepared.

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:< 5.12.11= 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
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 5.12.11 or later
Fixed in 5.12.11
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux kernel 5.12.11+ or 5.14+ (or distribution-provided patch for 5.13.x)

  1. Upgrade the Linux kernel to version 5.12.11 or later for the 5.12 stable branch
  2. Alternatively, upgrade to version 5.14 or later, which contains the fix
  3. For distributions still on 5.13.x, upgrade to 5.13.1 or later where this patch has been backported
  4. Verify the fix by checking that the bcache cache_miss function properly limits the sectors parameter to prevent overflow
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require system reboot and could introduce compatibility changes with third-party modules

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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