Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2021-47576

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-06-19
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.9.294 / 4.14.259 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: scsi: scsi_debug: Sanity check block descriptor length in resp_mode_select() In resp_mode_select() sanity check the block descriptor len to avoid UAF. BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in resp_mode_select+0xa4c/0xb40 drivers/scsi/scsi_debug.c:2509 Read of size 1 at addr ffff888026670f50 by task scsicmd/15032 CPU: 1 PID: 15032 Comm: scsicmd Not tainted 5.15.0-01d0625 #15 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x89/0xb5 lib/dump_stack.c:107 print_address_description.constprop.9+0x28/0x160 mm/kasan/report.c:257 kasan_report.cold.14+0x7d/0x117 mm/kasan/report.c:443 __asan_report_load1_noabort+0x14/0x20 mm/kasan/report_generic.c:306 resp_mode_select+0xa4c/0xb40 drivers/scsi/scsi_debug.c:2509 schedule_resp+0x4af/0x1a10 drivers/scsi/scsi_debug.c:5483 scsi_debug_queuecommand+0x8c9/0x1e70 drivers/scsi/scsi_debug.c:7537 scsi_queue_rq+0x16b4/0x2d10 drivers/scsi/scsi_lib.c:1521 blk_mq_dispatch_rq_list+0xb9b/0x2700 block/blk-mq.c:1640 __blk_mq_sched_dispatch_requests+0x28f/0x590 block/blk-mq-sched.c:325 blk_mq_sched_dispatch_requests+0x105/0x190 block/blk-mq-sched.c:358 __blk_mq_run_hw_queue+0xe5/0x150 block/blk-mq.c:1762 __blk_mq_delay_run_hw_queue+0x4f8/0x5c0 block/blk-mq.c:1839 blk_mq_run_hw_queue+0x18d/0x350 block/blk-mq.c:1891 blk_mq_sched_insert_request+0x3db/0x4e0 block/blk-mq-sched.c:474 blk_execute_rq_nowait+0x16b/0x1c0 block/blk-exec.c:63 sg_common_write.isra.18+0xeb3/0x2000 drivers/scsi/sg.c:837 sg_new_write.isra.19+0x570/0x8c0 drivers/scsi/sg.c:775 sg_ioctl_common+0x14d6/0x2710 drivers/scsi/sg.c:941 sg_ioctl+0xa2/0x180 drivers/scsi/sg.c:1166 __x64_sys_ioctl+0x19d/0x220 fs/ioctl.c:52 do_syscall_64+0x3a/0x80 arch/x86/entry/common.c:50 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xae arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:113

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:< 4.9.294>= 4.10, < 4.14.259>= 4.15, < 4.19.222>= 4.20, < 5.4.168>= 5.5, < 5.10.88>= 5.11, < 5.15.11

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 4.9.294 / 4.14.259 / 4.19.222 or later
Fixed in 4.9.2944.14.2594.19.222
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to kernel 4.9.294 or later, 4.14.259 or later, 4.19.222 or later, or 5.4.168 or later depending on your current branch

  1. Identify the exact kernel version running using 'uname -r' or 'cat /proc/version'
  2. Download the kernel source for your current version from https://www.kernel.org/
  3. Locate the file drivers/scsi/scsi_debug.c in the source tree
  4. Apply the fix from commit 04181973c38f3d6a353f9246dcf7fee08024fd9e which adds a sanity check for block descriptor length in resp_mode_select() to prevent the use-after-free
  5. Alternatively, apply the upstream fix: add validation in resp_mode_select() to check that the block descriptor length does not exceed available data before dereferencing pointers
  6. Recompile the kernel or just the scsi_debug module if kernel configuration allows module building
  7. Replace the existing scsi_debug.ko module or reboot to the new kernel
  8. Verify the fix is applied by checking the patched function in the module
Caveat The scsi_debug module is a debug/test driver typically not loaded in production systems; if loaded, the fix is a simple bounds check with no functional change to legitimate operations

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-2021-47576 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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