high CVSS 7.8

CVE-2021-47338·Kernel vulnerability

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fbmem: Do not delete the mode that is still in use The execution of fb_delete_videomode() is not based on the result of the previous fbcon_mode_deleted(). As a result, the mode is directly deleted, regardless of whether it is still in use, which may cause UAF. ================================================================== BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in fb_mode_is_equal+0x36e/0x5e0 \ drivers/video/fbdev/core/modedb.c:924 Read of size 4 at addr ffff88807e0ddb1c by task syz-executor.0/18962 CPU: 2 PID: 18962 Comm: syz-executor.0 Not tainted 5.10.45-rc1+ #3 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS ... Call Trace: __dump_stack lib/dump_stack.c:77 [inline] dump_stack+0x137/0x1be lib/dump_stack.c:118 print_address_description+0x6c/0x640 mm/kasan/report.c:385 __kasan_report mm/kasan/report.c:545 [inline] kasan_report+0x13d/0x1e0 mm/kasan/report.c:562 fb_mode_is_equal+0x36e/0x5e0 drivers/video/fbdev/core/modedb.c:924 fbcon_mode_deleted+0x16a/0x220 drivers/video/fbdev/core/fbcon.c:2746 fb_set_var+0x1e1/0xdb0 drivers/video/fbdev/core/fbmem.c:975 do_fb_ioctl+0x4d9/0x6e0 drivers/video/fbdev/core/fbmem.c:1108 vfs_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:48 [inline] __do_sys_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:753 [inline] __se_sys_ioctl+0xfb/0x170 fs/ioctl.c:739 do_syscall_64+0x2d/0x70 arch/x86/entry/common.c:46 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xa9 Freed by task 18960: kasan_save_stack mm/kasan/common.c:48 [inline] kasan_set_track+0x3d/0x70 mm/kasan/common.c:56 kasan_set_free_info+0x17/0x30 mm/kasan/generic.c:355 __kasan_slab_free+0x108/0x140 mm/kasan/common.c:422 slab_free_hook mm/slub.c:1541 [inline] slab_free_freelist_hook+0xd6/0x1a0 mm/slub.c:1574 slab_free mm/slub.c:3139 [inline] kfree+0xca/0x3d0 mm/slub.c:4121 fb_delete_videomode+0x56a/0x820 drivers/video/fbdev/core/modedb.c:1104 fb_set_var+0x1f3/0xdb0 drivers/video/fbdev/core/fbmem.c:978 do_fb_ioctl+0x4d9/0x6e0 drivers/video/fbdev/core/fbmem.c:1108 vfs_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:48 [inline] __do_sys_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:753 [inline] __se_sys_ioctl+0xfb/0x170 fs/ioctl.c:739 do_syscall_64+0x2d/0x70 arch/x86/entry/common.c:46 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xa9

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 framebuffer memory management subsystem. The vulnerability allows a local attacker with low privileges to trigger a kernel panic or potentially execute arbitrary code by manipulating video mode deletion while modes are still in use. Prioritize this patch as it affects the core kernel's video subsystem with high severity.

sudo dnf update kernel kernel-devel

Defensia detects this vulnerability

How to check if you are affected

  1. Step 1: Check kernel version with `uname -r` — vulnerable if output shows 5.13.0 through 5.13.3
  2. Step 2: Verify framebuffer driver is loaded with `lsmod | grep -i fb` — presence of fbdev modules indicates potential exposure
  3. Step 3: Search for UAF patterns in kernel logs with `sudo dmesg | grep -i 'use-after-free\|kasan\|fbmem'` — look for KASAN warnings or modedb references
  4. Step 4: After patching, verify kernel version updated with `uname -r` and confirm it is 5.13.4 or later

FAQ

What is CVE-2021-47338?

This is a use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's framebuffer subsystem where video display modes are deleted without checking if they are still actively in use by the system, allowing local attackers to trigger memory corruption.

Is CVE-2021-47338 being actively exploited?

No, there are no public exploits available and CISA does not list this vulnerability on its known exploited vulnerabilities catalog, though the high CVSS score warrants timely patching.

What versions of Kernel are affected by CVE-2021-47338?

Linux kernel versions 5.13.0 through 5.13.3 are vulnerable; the fix was released in kernel 5.13.4 and later.

How do I check if my server is vulnerable to CVE-2021-47338?

Run `uname -r` and check if the output matches the pattern 5.13.[0-3]; if it does, your system is vulnerable and requires a kernel update.

Does Defensia detect CVE-2021-47338?

Yes — Defensia's CVE advisory scanner compares installed kernel package versions against the NVD database. If the Linux kernel is running on a monitored server, CVE-2021-47338 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-2024-38612CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ipv6: sr: fix invalid unregister error path The error path of seg6_init() is wrong in case CONFIG_IPV6_SEG6_LWTUNNEL is not defined. In that case if seg6_hmac_init() fails, the genl_unregister_family() isn't called. This issue exist since commit 46738b1317e1 ("ipv6: sr: add option to control lwtunnel support"), and commit 5559cea2d5aa ("ipv6: sr: fix possible use-after-free and null-ptr-deref") replaced unregister_pernet_subsys() with genl_unregister_family() in this error path.
CVE-2024-39462CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: clk: bcm: dvp: Assign ->num before accessing ->hws Commit f316cdff8d67 ("clk: Annotate struct clk_hw_onecell_data with __counted_by") annotated the hws member of 'struct clk_hw_onecell_data' with __counted_by, which informs the bounds sanitizer about the number of elements in hws, so that it can warn when hws is accessed out of bounds. As noted in that change, the __counted_by member must be initialized with the number of elements before the first array access happens, otherwise there will be a warning from each access prior to the initialization because the number of elements is zero. This occurs in clk_dvp_probe() due to ->num being assigned after ->hws has been accessed: UBSAN: array-index-out-of-bounds in drivers/clk/bcm/clk-bcm2711-dvp.c:59:2 index 0 is out of range for type 'struct clk_hw *[] __counted_by(num)' (aka 'struct clk_hw *[]') Move the ->num initialization to before the first access of ->hws, which clears up the warning.
CVE-2024-38541CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: of: module: add buffer overflow check in of_modalias() In of_modalias(), if the buffer happens to be too small even for the 1st snprintf() call, the len parameter will become negative and str parameter (if not NULL initially) will point beyond the buffer's end. Add the buffer overflow check after the 1st snprintf() call and fix such check after the strlen() call (accounting for the terminating NUL char).
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.

References

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