Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2021-47592
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: net: stmmac: fix tc flower deletion for VLAN priority Rx steering To replicate the issue:- 1) Add 1 flower filter for VLAN Priority based frame steering:- $ IFDEVNAME=eth0 $ tc qdisc add dev $IFDEVNAME ingress $ tc qdisc add dev $IFDEVNAME root mqprio num_tc 8 \ map 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 \ queues 1@0 1@1 1@2 1@3 1@4 1@5 1@6 1@7 hw 0 $ tc filter add dev $IFDEVNAME parent ffff: protocol 802.1Q \ flower vlan_prio 0 hw_tc 0 2) Get the 'pref' id $ tc filter show dev $IFDEVNAME ingress 3) Delete a specific tc flower record (say pref 49151) $ tc filter del dev $IFDEVNAME parent ffff: pref 49151 From dmesg, we will observe kernel NULL pointer ooops [ 197.170464] BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000000 [ 197.171367] #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode [ 197.171367] #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page [ 197.171367] PGD 0 P4D 0 [ 197.171367] Oops: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP NOPTI <snip> [ 197.171367] RIP: 0010:tc_setup_cls+0x20b/0x4a0 [stmmac] <snip> [ 197.171367] Call Trace: [ 197.171367] <TASK> [ 197.171367] ? __stmmac_disable_all_queues+0xa8/0xe0 [stmmac] [ 197.171367] stmmac_setup_tc_block_cb+0x70/0x110 [stmmac] [ 197.171367] tc_setup_cb_destroy+0xb3/0x180 [ 197.171367] fl_hw_destroy_filter+0x94/0xc0 [cls_flower] The above issue is due to previous incorrect implementation of tc_del_vlan_flow(), shown below, that uses flow_cls_offload_flow_rule() to get struct flow_rule *rule which is no longer valid for tc filter delete operation. struct flow_rule *rule = flow_cls_offload_flow_rule(cls); struct flow_dissector *dissector = rule->match.dissector; So, to ensure tc_del_vlan_flow() deletes the right VLAN cls record for earlier configured RX queue (configured by hw_tc) in tc_add_vlan_flow(), this patch introduces stmmac_rfs_entry as driver-side flow_cls_offload record for 'RX frame steering' tc flower, currently used for VLAN priority. The implementation has taken consideration for future extension to include other type RX frame steering such as EtherType based. v2: - Clean up overly extensive backtrace and rewrite git message to better explain the kernel NULL pointer issue.
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
>= 5.13, < 5.15.11= 5.16CVSS 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 · scoped5.15.11
Linux Kernel 5.15.11 or later (or 5.16.24+, or 5.17+)
- Upgrade Linux kernel to version 5.15.11 or later
- If using kernel 5.16.x, upgrade to 5.16.24 or later which includes the fix
- Alternatively, upgrade to kernel 5.17 or later where the fix is included
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-2021-47592 — 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-2021-47592 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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