CVE-2021-47118·Kernel vulnerability
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: pid: take a reference when initializing `cad_pid` During boot, kernel_init_freeable() initializes `cad_pid` to the init task's struct pid. Later on, we may change `cad_pid` via a sysctl, and when this happens proc_do_cad_pid() will increment the refcount on the new pid via get_pid(), and will decrement the refcount on the old pid via put_pid(). As we never called get_pid() when we initialized `cad_pid`, we decrement a reference we never incremented, can therefore free the init task's struct pid early. As there can be dangling references to the struct pid, we can later encounter a use-after-free (e.g. when delivering signals). This was spotted when fuzzing v5.13-rc3 with Syzkaller, but seems to have been around since the conversion of `cad_pid` to struct pid in commit 9ec52099e4b8 ("[PATCH] replace cad_pid by a struct pid") from the pre-KASAN stone age of v2.6.19. Fix this by getting a reference to the init task's struct pid when we assign it to `cad_pid`. Full KASAN splat below. ================================================================== BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in ns_of_pid include/linux/pid.h:153 [inline] BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in task_active_pid_ns+0xc0/0xc8 kernel/pid.c:509 Read of size 4 at addr ffff23794dda0004 by task syz-executor.0/273 CPU: 1 PID: 273 Comm: syz-executor.0 Not tainted 5.12.0-00001-g9aef892b2d15 #1 Hardware name: linux,dummy-virt (DT) Call trace: ns_of_pid include/linux/pid.h:153 [inline] task_active_pid_ns+0xc0/0xc8 kernel/pid.c:509 do_notify_parent+0x308/0xe60 kernel/signal.c:1950 exit_notify kernel/exit.c:682 [inline] do_exit+0x2334/0x2bd0 kernel/exit.c:845 do_group_exit+0x108/0x2c8 kernel/exit.c:922 get_signal+0x4e4/0x2a88 kernel/signal.c:2781 do_signal arch/arm64/kernel/signal.c:882 [inline] do_notify_resume+0x300/0x970 arch/arm64/kernel/signal.c:936 work_pending+0xc/0x2dc Allocated by task 0: slab_post_alloc_hook+0x50/0x5c0 mm/slab.h:516 slab_alloc_node mm/slub.c:2907 [inline] slab_alloc mm/slub.c:2915 [inline] kmem_cache_alloc+0x1f4/0x4c0 mm/slub.c:2920 alloc_pid+0xdc/0xc00 kernel/pid.c:180 copy_process+0x2794/0x5e18 kernel/fork.c:2129 kernel_clone+0x194/0x13c8 kernel/fork.c:2500 kernel_thread+0xd4/0x110 kernel/fork.c:2552 rest_init+0x44/0x4a0 init/main.c:687 arch_call_rest_init+0x1c/0x28 start_kernel+0x520/0x554 init/main.c:1064 0x0 Freed by task 270: slab_free_hook mm/slub.c:1562 [inline] slab_free_freelist_hook+0x98/0x260 mm/slub.c:1600 slab_free mm/slub.c:3161 [inline] kmem_cache_free+0x224/0x8e0 mm/slub.c:3177 put_pid.part.4+0xe0/0x1a8 kernel/pid.c:114 put_pid+0x30/0x48 kernel/pid.c:109 proc_do_cad_pid+0x190/0x1b0 kernel/sysctl.c:1401 proc_sys_call_handler+0x338/0x4b0 fs/proc/proc_sysctl.c:591 proc_sys_write+0x34/0x48 fs/proc/proc_sysctl.c:617 call_write_iter include/linux/fs.h:1977 [inline] new_sync_write+0x3ac/0x510 fs/read_write.c:518 vfs_write fs/read_write.c:605 [inline] vfs_write+0x9c4/0x1018 fs/read_write.c:585 ksys_write+0x124/0x240 fs/read_write.c:658 __do_sys_write fs/read_write.c:670 [inline] __se_sys_write fs/read_write.c:667 [inline] __arm64_sys_write+0x78/0xb0 fs/read_write.c:667 __invoke_syscall arch/arm64/kernel/syscall.c:37 [inline] invoke_syscall arch/arm64/kernel/syscall.c:49 [inline] el0_svc_common.constprop.1+0x16c/0x388 arch/arm64/kernel/syscall.c:129 do_el0_svc+0xf8/0x150 arch/arm64/kernel/syscall.c:168 el0_svc+0x28/0x38 arch/arm64/kernel/entry-common.c:416 el0_sync_handler+0x134/0x180 arch/arm64/kernel/entry-common.c:432 el0_sync+0x154/0x180 arch/arm64/kernel/entry.S:701 The buggy address belongs to the object at ffff23794dda0000 which belongs to the cache pid of size 224 The buggy address is located 4 bytes inside of 224-byte region [ff ---truncated---
- Severity
- high
- Software
- Kernel
- Fixed in
- 5.12.10
- Published
- 2024-03-15
Affected versions
From: 5.11
Until: 5.12.10
Fixed in: 5.12.10
How to fix this CVE
Update your Linux kernel to version 5.12.10 or later to resolve a critical reference counting vulnerability affecting the init process's PID structure. This vulnerability allows the kernel to prematurely free memory associated with process identifiers, leading to potential use-after-free conditions during signal delivery. Apply the patch immediately if running kernel versions 5.11 through 5.12.9.
sudo dnf update kernel kernel-devel && sudo rebootDefensia detects this vulnerability
How to check if you are affected
- Check the running kernel version: uname -r and verify it is 5.12.10 or later
- Verify the installed kernel package matches the running version: dpkg -l | grep linux-image (Debian/Ubuntu) or rpm -qa | grep kernel (RHEL/CentOS)
- Search system logs for use-after-free KASAN splats: dmesg | grep -i 'KASAN\|use-after-free' or journalctl -S -1h | grep -i 'KASAN'
- Confirm the patch was applied by checking kernel commit: uname -v | grep -i '0711f0d7' or '2cd6eedfa6' (first few chars of patch commit hash)
FAQ
What is CVE-2021-47118?
CVE-2021-47118 is a use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's PID reference counting mechanism. During initialization, the init task's process ID structure is assigned to cad_pid without incrementing its reference count, but later attempts to change cad_pid via sysctl decrement this reference, causing premature memory deallocation and potential crashes or information leaks.
Is CVE-2021-47118 being actively exploited?
No, this vulnerability is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog and no public exploits are currently available. However, it is a kernel memory safety issue with high severity that should still be patched promptly.
What versions of Kernel are affected by CVE-2021-47118?
Linux kernel versions 5.11 through 5.12.9 are affected. The vulnerability was introduced in v2.6.19 but only discovered during fuzzing of v5.13-rc3. Version 5.12.10 and later include the fix.
How do I check if my server is vulnerable to CVE-2021-47118?
Run 'uname -r' to check your kernel version. If the output shows 5.11.x through 5.12.9, your system is vulnerable. You can also check 'cat /proc/version' for additional kernel details.
Does Defensia detect CVE-2021-47118?
Yes — Defensia's CVE advisory scanner compares installed package versions against the NVD database. If Linux kernel is installed on a monitored server running versions 5.11 through 5.12.9, CVE-2021-47118 will appear in your dashboard with remediation steps.
Related Kernel CVEs
References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0711f0d7050b9e07c44bc159bbc64ac0a1022c7f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2cd6eedfa6344f5ef5c3dac3aee57a39b5b46dff
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4dbd8808a591b49b717862e6e0081bcf14a87788
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7178be006d495ffb741c329012da289b62dddfe6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/764c2e892d1fe895392aff62fb353fdce43bb529
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