Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2021-47589
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: igbvf: fix double free in `igbvf_probe` In `igbvf_probe`, if register_netdev() fails, the program will go to label err_hw_init, and then to label err_ioremap. In free_netdev() which is just below label err_ioremap, there is `list_for_each_entry_safe` and `netif_napi_del` which aims to delete all entries in `dev->napi_list`. The program has added an entry `adapter->rx_ring->napi` which is added by `netif_napi_add` in igbvf_alloc_queues(). However, adapter->rx_ring has been freed below label err_hw_init. So this a UAF. In terms of how to patch the problem, we can refer to igbvf_remove() and delete the entry before `adapter->rx_ring`. The KASAN logs are as follows: [ 35.126075] BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in free_netdev+0x1fd/0x450 [ 35.127170] Read of size 8 at addr ffff88810126d990 by task modprobe/366 [ 35.128360] [ 35.128643] CPU: 1 PID: 366 Comm: modprobe Not tainted 5.15.0-rc2+ #14 [ 35.129789] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS rel-1.12.0-59-gc9ba5276e321-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014 [ 35.131749] Call Trace: [ 35.132199] dump_stack_lvl+0x59/0x7b [ 35.132865] print_address_description+0x7c/0x3b0 [ 35.133707] ? free_netdev+0x1fd/0x450 [ 35.134378] __kasan_report+0x160/0x1c0 [ 35.135063] ? free_netdev+0x1fd/0x450 [ 35.135738] kasan_report+0x4b/0x70 [ 35.136367] free_netdev+0x1fd/0x450 [ 35.137006] igbvf_probe+0x121d/0x1a10 [igbvf] [ 35.137808] ? igbvf_vlan_rx_add_vid+0x100/0x100 [igbvf] [ 35.138751] local_pci_probe+0x13c/0x1f0 [ 35.139461] pci_device_probe+0x37e/0x6c0 [ 35.165526] [ 35.165806] Allocated by task 366: [ 35.166414] ____kasan_kmalloc+0xc4/0xf0 [ 35.167117] foo_kmem_cache_alloc_trace+0x3c/0x50 [igbvf] [ 35.168078] igbvf_probe+0x9c5/0x1a10 [igbvf] [ 35.168866] local_pci_probe+0x13c/0x1f0 [ 35.169565] pci_device_probe+0x37e/0x6c0 [ 35.179713] [ 35.179993] Freed by task 366: [ 35.180539] kasan_set_track+0x4c/0x80 [ 35.181211] kasan_set_free_info+0x1f/0x40 [ 35.181942] ____kasan_slab_free+0x103/0x140 [ 35.182703] kfree+0xe3/0x250 [ 35.183239] igbvf_probe+0x1173/0x1a10 [igbvf] [ 35.184040] local_pci_probe+0x13c/0x1f0
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 same block of memory is freed twice, corrupting the allocator's bookkeeping in ways an attacker can shape toward code execution. It usually stems from tangled ownership of a pointer. The fix is clear, single ownership of each allocation and clearing pointers once they are freed.
General guidance for the double 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
>= 2.6.30, < 4.4.296>= 4.5, < 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, < 5.15.11CVSS 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 · scoped4.4.2964.9.2944.14.259
Upgrade to kernel 4.4.296 / 4.9.294 / 4.14.259 / 4.19.222 or later (matching your current branch)
- Identify the current running kernel version using `uname -r`
- Determine which version branch your current kernel is on (e.g., 4.14.x, 4.19.x, etc.)
- Upgrade the Linux kernel to a fixed version: for 4.4.x branch upgrade to >= 4.4.296, for 4.9.x branch upgrade to >= 4.9.294, for 4.14.x branch upgrade to >= 4.14.259, for 4.19.x branch upgrade to >= 4.19.222
- Use your distribution's package manager to install the updated kernel (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 fixed kernel
- Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version with `uname -r` and confirming the igbvf driver loads without KASAN errors
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-47589 — 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-2021-47589 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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