Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2021-47492

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-05-22

Fix available

A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.10.77 / 5.14.16 or later.

See remediation →

57/100

Remediation priority · Elevated

Zero-click Patch available

Official description

NVD · unedited

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm, thp: bail out early in collapse_file for writeback page Currently collapse_file does not explicitly check PG_writeback, instead, page_has_private and try_to_release_page are used to filter writeback pages. This does not work for xfs with blocksize equal to or larger than pagesize, because in such case xfs has no page->private. This makes collapse_file bail out early for writeback page. Otherwise, xfs end_page_writeback will panic as follows. page:fffffe00201bcc80 refcount:0 mapcount:0 mapping:ffff0003f88c86a8 index:0x0 pfn:0x84ef32 aops:xfs_address_space_operations [xfs] ino:30000b7 dentry name:"libtest.so" flags: 0x57fffe0000008027(locked|referenced|uptodate|active|writeback) raw: 57fffe0000008027 ffff80001b48bc28 ffff80001b48bc28 ffff0003f88c86a8 raw: 0000000000000000 0000000000000000 00000000ffffffff ffff0000c3e9a000 page dumped because: VM_BUG_ON_PAGE(((unsigned int) page_ref_count(page) + 127u <= 127u)) page->mem_cgroup:ffff0000c3e9a000 ------------[ cut here ]------------ kernel BUG at include/linux/mm.h:1212! Internal error: Oops - BUG: 0 [#1] SMP Modules linked in: BUG: Bad page state in process khugepaged pfn:84ef32 xfs(E) page:fffffe00201bcc80 refcount:0 mapcount:0 mapping:0 index:0x0 pfn:0x84ef32 libcrc32c(E) rfkill(E) aes_ce_blk(E) crypto_simd(E) ... CPU: 25 PID: 0 Comm: swapper/25 Kdump: loaded Tainted: ... pstate: 60400005 (nZCv daif +PAN -UAO -TCO BTYPE=--) Call trace: end_page_writeback+0x1c0/0x214 iomap_finish_page_writeback+0x13c/0x204 iomap_finish_ioend+0xe8/0x19c iomap_writepage_end_bio+0x38/0x50 bio_endio+0x168/0x1ec blk_update_request+0x278/0x3f0 blk_mq_end_request+0x34/0x15c virtblk_request_done+0x38/0x74 [virtio_blk] blk_done_softirq+0xc4/0x110 __do_softirq+0x128/0x38c __irq_exit_rcu+0x118/0x150 irq_exit+0x1c/0x30 __handle_domain_irq+0x8c/0xf0 gic_handle_irq+0x84/0x108 el1_irq+0xcc/0x180 arch_cpu_idle+0x18/0x40 default_idle_call+0x4c/0x1a0 cpuidle_idle_call+0x168/0x1e0 do_idle+0xb4/0x104 cpu_startup_entry+0x30/0x9c secondary_start_kernel+0x104/0x180 Code: d4210000 b0006161 910c8021 94013f4d (d4210000) ---[ end trace 4a88c6a074082f8c ]--- Kernel panic - not syncing: Oops - BUG: Fatal exception in interrupt

Technical summary

dbcve analysis

A detailed technical summary for this CVE is being prepared.

Affected products & versions

NVD · CPE data

Linux KernelOperating system

Affected:>= 5.4, < 5.10.77>= 5.11, < 5.14.16= 5.15

CVSS breakdown

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

dbcve · scoped

Upgrade available Upgrade to 5.10.77 / 5.14.16 or later

Fixed in 5.10.775.14.16

Vendor patch git.kernel.org →

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to kernel >= 5.10.77, >= 5.14.16, or >= 5.16 (or the vendor's equivalent stable release with the fix backported)

Identify the currently running kernel version using `uname -r`
Check if the system is running an affected version: kernel < 5.10.77, 5.11.x to 5.14.15, or 5.15.x
For enterprise distributions, check if the vendor has released a kernel security update for this CVE
Plan a maintenance window to reboot into the new kernel
Upgrade the kernel package using the distribution's package manager (e.g., `apt-get update && apt-get install linux-image-<version>` for Debian/Ubuntu, or `yum update kernel` for RHEL/CentOS)
Reboot the system to load the patched kernel
Verify the new kernel version is running and the vulnerability is resolved using `uname -r`

Caveat Kernel upgrades may require system reboot and could introduce compatibility issues with custom kernel modules or older drivers; ensure backups and testing in non-production environments 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 $1,600. Get the upgrade done

Scan for this in your stack

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References

Primary sources

git.kernel.orgPatch / commit
git.kernel.orgPatch
git.kernel.orgPatch
git.kernel.orgPatch
nvd.nist.govNVD record

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-47492 in production — separate from our analysis above.

Notes0 Guidelines

Know something about CVE-2021-47492?

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

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here

Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data

At a glance

A fix existsUpgrade to 5.10.77 / 5.14.16 or later

Severity 5.5 Medium

Exploit likelihood EPSS, next 30 days 0.2%

Affects: Linux Kernel

Remediation

Need this fixed?

Get a fix

Estimated effortfrom ~9 hrs

ComplexityModerate

Typical engagementfrom $1,600

What a fix involves

We scope it with you and confirm a fixed quote
A specialist builds a reviewed fix
You deploy it to staging first
Optional re-test once it’s live

We specialise in CVE remediation. Send your environment and we’ll scope CVE-2021-47492 and return a fixed quote.

You’ll deal with our team directly and deploy the reviewed fix to staging first — never straight to production.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Scan for this in your stack

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Practitioner notes

No notes yet

Official description

Technical summary

Affected products & versions

CVSS breakdown

Remediation

References