Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2021-47618

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-06-20
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.15.19 / 5.16.5 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 · unedited
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ARM: 9170/1: fix panic when kasan and kprobe are enabled arm32 uses software to simulate the instruction replaced by kprobe. some instructions may be simulated by constructing assembly functions. therefore, before executing instruction simulation, it is necessary to construct assembly function execution environment in C language through binding registers. after kasan is enabled, the register binding relationship will be destroyed, resulting in instruction simulation errors and causing kernel panic. the kprobe emulate instruction function is distributed in three files: actions-common.c actions-arm.c actions-thumb.c, so disable KASAN when compiling these files. for example, use kprobe insert on cap_capable+20 after kasan enabled, the cap_capable assembly code is as follows: <cap_capable>: e92d47f0 push {r4, r5, r6, r7, r8, r9, sl, lr} e1a05000 mov r5, r0 e280006c add r0, r0, #108 ; 0x6c e1a04001 mov r4, r1 e1a06002 mov r6, r2 e59fa090 ldr sl, [pc, #144] ; ebfc7bf8 bl c03aa4b4 <__asan_load4> e595706c ldr r7, [r5, #108] ; 0x6c e2859014 add r9, r5, #20 ...... The emulate_ldr assembly code after enabling kasan is as follows: c06f1384 <emulate_ldr>: e92d47f0 push {r4, r5, r6, r7, r8, r9, sl, lr} e282803c add r8, r2, #60 ; 0x3c e1a05000 mov r5, r0 e7e37855 ubfx r7, r5, #16, #4 e1a00008 mov r0, r8 e1a09001 mov r9, r1 e1a04002 mov r4, r2 ebf35462 bl c03c6530 <__asan_load4> e357000f cmp r7, #15 e7e36655 ubfx r6, r5, #12, #4 e205a00f and sl, r5, #15 0a000001 beq c06f13bc <emulate_ldr+0x38> e0840107 add r0, r4, r7, lsl #2 ebf3545c bl c03c6530 <__asan_load4> e084010a add r0, r4, sl, lsl #2 ebf3545a bl c03c6530 <__asan_load4> e2890010 add r0, r9, #16 ebf35458 bl c03c6530 <__asan_load4> e5990010 ldr r0, [r9, #16] e12fff30 blx r0 e356000f cm r6, #15 1a000014 bne c06f1430 <emulate_ldr+0xac> e1a06000 mov r6, r0 e2840040 add r0, r4, #64 ; 0x40 ...... when running in emulate_ldr to simulate the ldr instruction, panic occurred, and the log is as follows: Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 00000090 pgd = ecb46400 [00000090] *pgd=2e0fa003, *pmd=00000000 Internal error: Oops: 206 [#1] SMP ARM PC is at cap_capable+0x14/0xb0 LR is at emulate_ldr+0x50/0xc0 psr: 600d0293 sp : ecd63af8 ip : 00000004 fp : c0a7c30c r10: 00000000 r9 : c30897f4 r8 : ecd63cd4 r7 : 0000000f r6 : 0000000a r5 : e59fa090 r4 : ecd63c98 r3 : c06ae294 r2 : 00000000 r1 : b7611300 r0 : bf4ec008 Flags: nZCv IRQs off FIQs on Mode SVC_32 ISA ARM Segment user Control: 32c5387d Table: 2d546400 DAC: 55555555 Process bash (pid: 1643, stack limit = 0xecd60190) (cap_capable) from (kprobe_handler+0x218/0x340) (kprobe_handler) from (kprobe_trap_handler+0x24/0x48) (kprobe_trap_handler) from (do_undefinstr+0x13c/0x364) (do_undefinstr) from (__und_svc_finish+0x0/0x30) (__und_svc_finish) from (cap_capable+0x18/0xb0) (cap_capable) from (cap_vm_enough_memory+0x38/0x48) (cap_vm_enough_memory) from (security_vm_enough_memory_mm+0x48/0x6c) (security_vm_enough_memory_mm) from (copy_process.constprop.5+0x16b4/0x25c8) (copy_process.constprop.5) from (_do_fork+0xe8/0x55c) (_do_fork) from (SyS_clone+0x1c/0x24) (SyS_clone) from (__sys_trace_return+0x0/0x10) Code: 0050a0e1 6c0080e2 0140a0e1 0260a0e1 (f801f0e7)

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-476

The 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
Affected:>= 2.6.25, < 5.15.19>= 5.16, < 5.16.5= 5.17

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
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 5.15.19 / 5.16.5 or later
Fixed in 5.15.195.16.5
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

5.15.19+ or 5.16.5+ (depending on which branch you run)

  1. Upgrade Linux kernel to version 5.15.19 or later for the 5.15.x stable branch
  2. OR upgrade to version 5.16.5 or later for the 5.16.x stable branch
  3. If using 5.17.x, upgrade to the latest stable 5.17.x release that includes the fix commit 1515e72aae803fc6b466adf918e71c4e4c9d5b3d
  4. After upgrade, ensure KASAN and kprobe can be enabled together on ARM32 without the NULL pointer dereference
Caveat Standard kernel upgrade risks apply - verify driver and module compatibility with the new kernel version before deployment

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 $2,850. Get the upgrade done

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2021-47618 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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