Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2021-47387
A fix is available.
Upgrade to 4.9.285 / 4.14.249 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 · uneditedIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: cpufreq: schedutil: Use kobject release() method to free sugov_tunables The struct sugov_tunables is protected by the kobject, so we can't free it directly. Otherwise we would get a call trace like this: ODEBUG: free active (active state 0) object type: timer_list hint: delayed_work_timer_fn+0x0/0x30 WARNING: CPU: 3 PID: 720 at lib/debugobjects.c:505 debug_print_object+0xb8/0x100 Modules linked in: CPU: 3 PID: 720 Comm: a.sh Tainted: G W 5.14.0-rc1-next-20210715-yocto-standard+ #507 Hardware name: Marvell OcteonTX CN96XX board (DT) pstate: 40400009 (nZcv daif +PAN -UAO -TCO BTYPE=--) pc : debug_print_object+0xb8/0x100 lr : debug_print_object+0xb8/0x100 sp : ffff80001ecaf910 x29: ffff80001ecaf910 x28: ffff00011b10b8d0 x27: ffff800011043d80 x26: ffff00011a8f0000 x25: ffff800013cb3ff0 x24: 0000000000000000 x23: ffff80001142aa68 x22: ffff800011043d80 x21: ffff00010de46f20 x20: ffff800013c0c520 x19: ffff800011d8f5b0 x18: 0000000000000010 x17: 6e6968207473696c x16: 5f72656d6974203a x15: 6570797420746365 x14: 6a626f2029302065 x13: 303378302f307830 x12: 2b6e665f72656d69 x11: ffff8000124b1560 x10: ffff800012331520 x9 : ffff8000100ca6b0 x8 : 000000000017ffe8 x7 : c0000000fffeffff x6 : 0000000000000001 x5 : ffff800011d8c000 x4 : ffff800011d8c740 x3 : 0000000000000000 x2 : ffff0001108301c0 x1 : ab3c90eedf9c0f00 x0 : 0000000000000000 Call trace: debug_print_object+0xb8/0x100 __debug_check_no_obj_freed+0x1c0/0x230 debug_check_no_obj_freed+0x20/0x88 slab_free_freelist_hook+0x154/0x1c8 kfree+0x114/0x5d0 sugov_exit+0xbc/0xc0 cpufreq_exit_governor+0x44/0x90 cpufreq_set_policy+0x268/0x4a8 store_scaling_governor+0xe0/0x128 store+0xc0/0xf0 sysfs_kf_write+0x54/0x80 kernfs_fop_write_iter+0x128/0x1c0 new_sync_write+0xf0/0x190 vfs_write+0x2d4/0x478 ksys_write+0x74/0x100 __arm64_sys_write+0x24/0x30 invoke_syscall.constprop.0+0x54/0xe0 do_el0_svc+0x64/0x158 el0_svc+0x2c/0xb0 el0t_64_sync_handler+0xb0/0xb8 el0t_64_sync+0x198/0x19c irq event stamp: 5518 hardirqs last enabled at (5517): [<ffff8000100cbd7c>] console_unlock+0x554/0x6c8 hardirqs last disabled at (5518): [<ffff800010fc0638>] el1_dbg+0x28/0xa0 softirqs last enabled at (5504): [<ffff8000100106e0>] __do_softirq+0x4d0/0x6c0 softirqs last disabled at (5483): [<ffff800010049548>] irq_exit+0x1b0/0x1b8 So split the original sugov_tunables_free() into two functions, sugov_clear_global_tunables() is just used to clear the global_tunables and the new sugov_tunables_free() is used as kobj_type::release to release the sugov_tunables safely.
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 analysisA 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:
>= 4.7, < 4.9.285>= 4.10, < 4.14.249>= 4.15, < 4.19.209>= 4.20, < 5.4.151>= 5.5, < 5.10.71>= 5.11, < 5.14.10CVSS 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 4.9.285 / 4.14.249 / 4.19.209 or later
Fixed in
4.9.2854.14.2494.19.209
Vendor patch
git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix
High confidence
Linux Kernel 4.9.285 / 4.14.249 / 4.19.209 / 5.4.151 (depending on current branch)
- Identify the currently running kernel version using 'uname -r' or 'cat /proc/version'
- Determine which affected version range applies based on the current kernel version
- For kernel versions 4.7-4.9.x: upgrade to kernel 4.9.285 or later
- For kernel versions 4.10-4.14.x: upgrade to kernel 4.14.249 or later
- For kernel versions 4.15-4.19.x: upgrade to kernel 4.19.209 or later
- For kernel versions 4.20-5.4.x: upgrade to kernel 5.4.151 or later
- Obtain the patched kernel from your Linux distribution vendor or kernel.org (https://kernel.org)
- Install the new kernel following standard distribution procedures (e.g., package manager installation or compiling from source)
Caveat Major kernel upgrades may require rebuilding out-of-tree kernel modules; ensure driver compatibility before upgrading
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.
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Free · runs locally
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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 sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-47387 in production — separate from our analysis above.
Know something about CVE-2021-47387?
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
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