high CVSS 7.8

CVE-2021-46959·Kernel vulnerability

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: spi: Fix use-after-free with devm_spi_alloc_* We can't rely on the contents of the devres list during spi_unregister_controller(), as the list is already torn down at the time we perform devres_find() for devm_spi_release_controller. This causes devices registered with devm_spi_alloc_{master,slave}() to be mistakenly identified as legacy, non-devm managed devices and have their reference counters decremented below 0. ------------[ cut here ]------------ WARNING: CPU: 1 PID: 660 at lib/refcount.c:28 refcount_warn_saturate+0x108/0x174 [<b0396f04>] (refcount_warn_saturate) from [<b03c56a4>] (kobject_put+0x90/0x98) [<b03c5614>] (kobject_put) from [<b0447b4c>] (put_device+0x20/0x24) r4:b6700140 [<b0447b2c>] (put_device) from [<b07515e8>] (devm_spi_release_controller+0x3c/0x40) [<b07515ac>] (devm_spi_release_controller) from [<b045343c>] (release_nodes+0x84/0xc4) r5:b6700180 r4:b6700100 [<b04533b8>] (release_nodes) from [<b0454160>] (devres_release_all+0x5c/0x60) r8:b1638c54 r7:b117ad94 r6:b1638c10 r5:b117ad94 r4:b163dc10 [<b0454104>] (devres_release_all) from [<b044e41c>] (__device_release_driver+0x144/0x1ec) r5:b117ad94 r4:b163dc10 [<b044e2d8>] (__device_release_driver) from [<b044f70c>] (device_driver_detach+0x84/0xa0) r9:00000000 r8:00000000 r7:b117ad94 r6:b163dc54 r5:b1638c10 r4:b163dc10 [<b044f688>] (device_driver_detach) from [<b044d274>] (unbind_store+0xe4/0xf8) Instead, determine the devm allocation state as a flag on the controller which is guaranteed to be stable during cleanup.

Severity: high
Software: Kernel
Fixed in: 5.12.4
Published: 2024-02-29

Affected versions

From: 5.12

Until: 5.12.4

Fixed in: 5.12.4

How to fix this CVE

Update your Linux kernel to version 5.12.4 or later to patch a critical use-after-free vulnerability in the SPI subsystem. This flaw affects kernel versions 5.12 through 5.12.3 and causes incorrect reference counting for devm-managed SPI controller allocations, potentially leading to memory corruption and system instability. Kernel patching typically requires a system reboot to take effect.

sudo dnf check-update kernel && sudo dnf install kernel && sudo reboot

Defensia detects this vulnerability

How to check if you are affected

Step 1: Check your current kernel version by running `uname -r` and compare against the vulnerable range 5.12.0 through 5.12.3
Step 2: Verify SPI device usage on your system with `lsmod | grep spi` to determine if the vulnerable subsystem is loaded
Step 3: Search kernel logs for refcount warnings using `dmesg | grep -i 'refcount_warn_saturate\|WARNING.*refcount'` or check `/var/log/kern.log` for similar patterns
Step 4: After applying patches, confirm the new kernel version with `uname -r` and ensure it is 5.12.4 or later

FAQ

What is CVE-2021-46959?

CVE-2021-46959 is a use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface) subsystem. It causes improperly managed device reference counters when SPI controllers are allocated using device resource management functions, leading to potential memory corruption.

Is CVE-2021-46959 being actively exploited?

No, CVE-2021-46959 is not listed on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog and has no public exploit available. However, the high CVSS score of 7.8 indicates significant risk if exploited by local attackers.

What versions of Kernel are affected by CVE-2021-46959?

Linux kernel versions 5.12.0 through 5.12.3 are vulnerable. Version 5.12.4 and later include the necessary fixes to resolve this issue.

How do I check if my server is vulnerable to CVE-2021-46959?

Run `uname -r` to retrieve your kernel version; if it reports 5.12.0 through 5.12.3, your system is vulnerable. Cross-reference with `cat /proc/version` for additional confirmation.

Does Defensia detect CVE-2021-46959?

Yes — Defensia's CVE advisory scanner compares installed package versions against the NVD database. If the Linux kernel is installed on a monitored server, CVE-2021-46959 will appear in your dashboard with remediation steps.

Related Kernel CVEs

CVE-2024-42256CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: cifs: Fix server re-repick on subrequest retry When a subrequest is marked for needing retry, netfs will call cifs_prepare_write() which will make cifs repick the server for the op before renegotiating credits; it then calls cifs_issue_write() which invokes smb2_async_writev() - which re-repicks the server. If a different server is then selected, this causes the increment of server->in_flight to happen against one record and the decrement to happen against another, leading to misaccounting. Fix this by just removing the repick code in smb2_async_writev(). As this is only called from netfslib-driven code, cifs_prepare_write() should always have been called first, and so server should never be NULL and the preparatory step is repeated in the event that we do a retry. The problem manifests as a warning looking something like: WARNING: CPU: 4 PID: 72896 at fs/smb/client/smb2ops.c:97 smb2_add_credits+0x3f0/0x9e0 [cifs] ... RIP: 0010:smb2_add_credits+0x3f0/0x9e0 [cifs] ... smb2_writev_callback+0x334/0x560 [cifs] cifs_demultiplex_thread+0x77a/0x11b0 [cifs] kthread+0x187/0x1d0 ret_from_fork+0x34/0x60 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 Which may be triggered by a number of different xfstests running against an Azure server in multichannel mode. generic/249 seems the most repeatable, but generic/215, generic/249 and generic/308 may also show it.

CVE-2024-38623CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fs/ntfs3: Use variable length array instead of fixed size Should fix smatch warning: ntfs_set_label() error: __builtin_memcpy() 'uni->name' too small (20 vs 256)

CVE-2024-36031CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: keys: Fix overwrite of key expiration on instantiation The expiry time of a key is unconditionally overwritten during instantiation, defaulting to turn it permanent. This causes a problem for DNS resolution as the expiration set by user-space is overwritten to TIME64_MAX, disabling further DNS updates. Fix this by restoring the condition that key_set_expiry is only called when the pre-parser sets a specific expiry.

CVE-2021-47548CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ethernet: hisilicon: hns: hns_dsaf_misc: fix a possible array overflow in hns_dsaf_ge_srst_by_port() The if statement: if (port >= DSAF_GE_NUM) return; limits the value of port less than DSAF_GE_NUM (i.e., 8). However, if the value of port is 6 or 7, an array overflow could occur: port_rst_off = dsaf_dev->mac_cb[port]->port_rst_off; because the length of dsaf_dev->mac_cb is DSAF_MAX_PORT_NUM (i.e., 6). To fix this possible array overflow, we first check port and if it is greater than or equal to DSAF_MAX_PORT_NUM, the function returns.

CVE-2022-48716CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ASoC: codecs: wcd938x: fix incorrect used of portid Mixer controls have the channel id in mixer->reg, which is not same as port id. port id should be derived from chan_info array. So fix this. Without this, its possible that we could corrupt struct wcd938x_sdw_priv by accessing port_map array out of range with channel id instead of port id.

References

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