high CVSS 7.8

CVE-2021-47318·Kernel vulnerability

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: arch_topology: Avoid use-after-free for scale_freq_data Currently topology_scale_freq_tick() (which gets called from scheduler_tick()) may end up using a pointer to "struct scale_freq_data", which was previously cleared by topology_clear_scale_freq_source(), as there is no protection in place here. The users of topology_clear_scale_freq_source() though needs a guarantee that the previously cleared scale_freq_data isn't used anymore, so they can free the related resources. Since topology_scale_freq_tick() is called from scheduler tick, we don't want to add locking in there. Use the RCU update mechanism instead (which is already used by the scheduler's utilization update path) to guarantee race free updates here. synchronize_rcu() makes sure that all RCU critical sections that started before it is called, will finish before it returns. And so the callers of topology_clear_scale_freq_source() don't need to worry about their callback getting called anymore.

Severity: high
Software: Kernel
Fixed in: 5.13.4
Published: 2024-05-21

Affected versions

From: 5.13

Until: 5.13.4

Fixed in: 5.13.4

How to fix this CVE

Update your Linux kernel to version 5.13.4 or later to resolve this use-after-free vulnerability in the architecture topology scaling frequency subsystem. The vulnerability allows a race condition between scheduler tick operations and frequency data cleanup routines; applying the patch ensures proper RCU synchronization prevents stale pointer access.

sudo dnf check-update kernel && sudo dnf update kernel

Defensia detects this vulnerability

How to check if you are affected

Step 1: Check installed kernel version with `uname -r` and confirm if it falls within 5.13.0 to 5.13.3
Step 2: Verify the scale_freq_data component is enabled by checking `/sys/devices/system/cpu/` for frequency scaling entries
Step 3: Search kernel logs with `sudo dmesg | grep -i 'use.after.free\|scale_freq\|topology' or journalctl -k | grep -i 'segfault\|page.fault' for potential crash signatures
Step 4: After patching, run `uname -r` to confirm kernel version is 5.13.4 or later, then reboot and verify with `dmesg | head -20` for clean boot messages

FAQ

What is CVE-2021-47318?

CVE-2021-47318 is a use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's architecture topology subsystem where the frequency scaling tick handler may access freed memory if topology_clear_scale_freq_source() is called concurrently, leading to potential system crashes or privilege escalation.

Is CVE-2021-47318 being actively exploited?

No, CVE-2021-47318 is not listed on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog and no public exploits are currently available.

What versions of Kernel are affected by CVE-2021-47318?

Linux kernel versions 5.13.0 through 5.13.3 are vulnerable; the issue was resolved in 5.13.4.

How do I check if my server is vulnerable to CVE-2021-47318?

Run `uname -r` and check if the output is 5.13.0, 5.13.1, 5.13.2, or 5.13.3; if so, your system requires patching.

Does Defensia detect CVE-2021-47318?

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-2021-47318 will appear in your dashboard with remediation steps.

Related Kernel CVEs

CVE-2026-100075CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: RDMA/srpt: Fix srpt_alloc_rw_ctxs() unwind counters When srpt_alloc_rw_ctxs() fails partway through a multi-buffer indirect descriptor, the unwind path destroys RDMA contexts but leaves stale n_rw_ctx and n_rdma values (and a dangling rw_ctxs pointer). Later sq_wr_avail accounting in srpt_queue_response() or srpt_write_pending() can then subtract the wrong number of send queue credits. Reset the counters and clear rw_ctxs after freeing the heap allocation before returning an error.

CVE-2026-64397CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ksmbd: serialize QUERY_DIRECTORY requests per file smb2_query_dir() stores a pointer to its stack-allocated private data in the ksmbd_file readdir_data. Concurrent QUERY_DIRECTORY requests using the same file handle can overwrite this pointer while an iterate_dir() callback is still using it, resulting in a stack use-after-free. Add a per-file mutex and hold it while accessing the shared directory enumeration state. The lock covers scan restart, dot entry state, readdir_data setup and iteration, and response construction. This prevents another request from replacing readdir_data.private before the current request has finished using it and also serializes the shared file position.

CVE-2026-64399CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ksmbd: add permission checks for FSCTL_DUPLICATE_EXTENTS_TO_FILE The FSCTL_DUPLICATE_EXTENTS_TO_FILE arm of smb2_ioctl() overwrites the destination file's data via vfs_clone_file_range() with neither the share-level KSMBD_TREE_CONN_FLAG_WRITABLE check nor a per-handle fp->daccess check that the other write-bearing arms carry. A client can overwrite destination data on a read-only share, or from a handle opened with only FILE_WRITE_ATTRIBUTES (which still yields an FMODE_WRITE filp). FILE_WRITE_ATTRIBUTES-only destination handle overwrote the file's data via the clone. Add both checks, matching the FSCTL_SET_SPARSE permission fix; require FILE_WRITE_DATA since this writes data.

CVE-2026-64066CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfs: Fix netfs_read_to_pagecache() to pause on subreq failure Fix netfs_read_to_pagecache() so that it pauses the generation of new subrequests if an already-issued subrequest fails.

CVE-2026-52924CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sctp: purge outqueue on stale COOKIE-ECHO handling sctp_stream_update() is only invoked when the association is moved into COOKIE_WAIT during association setup/reconfiguration. In this path, the outbound stream scheduler state (stream->out_curr) is expected to be clean, since no user data should have been transmitted yet unless the state machine has already partially progressed. However, a corner case exists in sctp_sf_do_5_2_6_stale(): when a Stale Cookie ERROR is received, the association is rolled back from COOKIE_ECHOED to COOKIE_WAIT. In this scenario, user data may already have been queued and even bundled with the COOKIE-ECHO chunk. During the rollback, sctp_stream_update() frees the old stream table and installs a new one, but it does not invalidate stream->out_curr. As a result, out_curr may still point to a freed sctp_stream_out entry from the previous stream state. Later, SCTP scheduler dequeue paths (FCFS, RR, PRIO, etc.) rely on stream->out_curr->ext, which can lead to use-after-free once the old stream state has been released via sctp_stream_free(). This results in crashes such as (reported by Yuqi): BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in sctp_sched_fcfs_dequeue+0x13a/0x140 Read of size 8 at addr ff1100004d4d3208 by task mini_poc/9312 CPU: 1 UID: 1001 PID: 9312 Comm: mini_poc Not tainted 7.1.0-rc1-00305-gbd3a4795d574 #5 PREEMPT(full) sctp_sched_fcfs_dequeue+0x13a/0x140 sctp_outq_flush+0x1603/0x33e0 sctp_do_sm+0x31c9/0x5d30 sctp_assoc_bh_rcv+0x392/0x6f0 sctp_inq_push+0x1db/0x270 sctp_rcv+0x138d/0x3c10 Fix this by fully purging the association outqueue when handling the Stale Cookie case. This ensures all pending transmit and retransmit state is dropped, and any scheduler cached pointers are invalidated, making it safe to rebuild stream state during COOKIE_WAIT restart. Updating only stream->out_curr would be insufficient, since queued and retransmittable data would still reference the old stream state and trigger later use-after-free in dequeue paths.

References

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