Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2021-47369
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: s390/qeth: fix NULL deref in qeth_clear_working_pool_list() When qeth_set_online() calls qeth_clear_working_pool_list() to roll back after an error exit from qeth_hardsetup_card(), we are at risk of accessing card->qdio.in_q before it was allocated by qeth_alloc_qdio_queues() via qeth_mpc_initialize(). qeth_clear_working_pool_list() then dereferences NULL, and by writing to queue->bufs[i].pool_entry scribbles all over the CPU's lowcore. Resulting in a crash when those lowcore areas are used next (eg. on the next machine-check interrupt). Such a scenario would typically happen when the device is first set online and its queues aren't allocated yet. An early IO error or certain misconfigs (eg. mismatched transport mode, bad portno) then cause us to error out from qeth_hardsetup_card() with card->qdio.in_q still being NULL. Fix it by checking the pointer for NULL before accessing it. Note that we also have (rare) paths inside qeth_mpc_initialize() where a configuration change can cause us to free the existing queues, expecting that subsequent code will allocate them again. If we then error out before that re-allocation happens, the same bug occurs. Root-caused-by: Heiko Carstens <[email protected]>
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 code follows a pointer that is null, crashing the process. An attacker who can reliably trigger it turns the crash into a denial of service. The fix is checking for null before use and handling the failure path gracefully.
General guidance for the null pointer dereference 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
>= 5.7.16, < 5.8>= 5.8.2, < 5.10.70>= 5.11, < 5.14.9= 5.15CVSS 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 · scoped5.85.10.705.14.9
Upgrade to kernel 5.8 or later (if currently < 5.8), 5.10.70 or later (if 5.8.2 <= version < 5.10.70), 5.14.9 or later (if 5.11 <= version < 5.14.9), or 5.15.2 or later (if version is 5.15)
- Identify the affected system as running a Linux kernel version >= 5.7.16 and < 5.8, >= 5.8.2 and < 5.10.70, >= 5.11 and < 5.14.9, or exactly 5.15
- Apply kernel patch commit 248f064af222a1f97ee02c84a98013dfbccad386 which adds a NULL check in qeth_clear_working_pool_list() before accessing card->qdio.in_q
- Alternatively, obtain a kernel update from your distribution vendor that includes this fix
- Reboot the system to load the patched 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-2021-47369 — 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-2021-47369 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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