medium CVSS 5.5 EPSS <0.1%

CVE-2021-47578·Kernel vulnerability

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: scsi: scsi_debug: Don't call kcalloc() if size arg is zero If the size arg to kcalloc() is zero, it returns ZERO_SIZE_PTR. Because of that, for a following NULL pointer check to work on the returned pointer, kcalloc() must not be called with the size arg equal to zero. Return early without error before the kcalloc() call if size arg is zero. BUG: KASAN: null-ptr-deref in memcpy include/linux/fortify-string.h:191 [inline] BUG: KASAN: null-ptr-deref in sg_copy_buffer+0x138/0x240 lib/scatterlist.c:974 Write of size 4 at addr 0000000000000010 by task syz-executor.1/22789 CPU: 1 PID: 22789 Comm: syz-executor.1 Not tainted 5.15.0-syzk #1 Hardware name: Red Hat KVM, BIOS 1.13.0-2 Call Trace: __dump_stack lib/dump_stack.c:88 [inline] dump_stack_lvl+0x89/0xb5 lib/dump_stack.c:106 __kasan_report mm/kasan/report.c:446 [inline] kasan_report.cold.14+0x112/0x117 mm/kasan/report.c:459 check_region_inline mm/kasan/generic.c:183 [inline] kasan_check_range+0x1a3/0x210 mm/kasan/generic.c:189 memcpy+0x3b/0x60 mm/kasan/shadow.c:66 memcpy include/linux/fortify-string.h:191 [inline] sg_copy_buffer+0x138/0x240 lib/scatterlist.c:974 do_dout_fetch drivers/scsi/scsi_debug.c:2954 [inline] do_dout_fetch drivers/scsi/scsi_debug.c:2946 [inline] resp_verify+0x49e/0x930 drivers/scsi/scsi_debug.c:4276 schedule_resp+0x4d8/0x1a70 drivers/scsi/scsi_debug.c:5478 scsi_debug_queuecommand+0x8c9/0x1ec0 drivers/scsi/scsi_debug.c:7533 scsi_dispatch_cmd drivers/scsi/scsi_lib.c:1520 [inline] scsi_queue_rq+0x16b0/0x2d40 drivers/scsi/scsi_lib.c:1699 blk_mq_dispatch_rq_list+0xb9b/0x2700 block/blk-mq.c:1639 __blk_mq_sched_dispatch_requests+0x28f/0x590 block/blk-mq-sched.c:325 blk_mq_sched_dispatch_requests+0x105/0x190 block/blk-mq-sched.c:358 __blk_mq_run_hw_queue+0xe5/0x150 block/blk-mq.c:1761 __blk_mq_delay_run_hw_queue+0x4f8/0x5c0 block/blk-mq.c:1838 blk_mq_run_hw_queue+0x18d/0x350 block/blk-mq.c:1891 blk_mq_sched_insert_request+0x3db/0x4e0 block/blk-mq-sched.c:474 blk_execute_rq_nowait+0x16b/0x1c0 block/blk-exec.c:62 blk_execute_rq+0xdb/0x360 block/blk-exec.c:102 sg_scsi_ioctl drivers/scsi/scsi_ioctl.c:621 [inline] scsi_ioctl+0x8bb/0x15c0 drivers/scsi/scsi_ioctl.c:930 sg_ioctl_common+0x172d/0x2710 drivers/scsi/sg.c:1112 sg_ioctl+0xa2/0x180 drivers/scsi/sg.c:1165 vfs_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:51 [inline] __do_sys_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:874 [inline] __se_sys_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:860 [inline] __x64_sys_ioctl+0x19d/0x220 fs/ioctl.c:860 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:50 [inline] do_syscall_64+0x3a/0x80 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xae

Severity
medium
Software
Kernel
Fixed in
5.15.11
Published

How likely is exploitation

FIRST's Exploit Prediction Scoring System puts the probability of this CVE being exploited in the next 30 days at <0.1% — higher than 4% of all published CVEs. EPSS is an independent forecast of exploitation, not a severity rating: it says nothing about how much damage a successful attack does, which is what a CVSS score measures.

Affected versions

From: 5.11

Until: 5.15.11

Fixed in: 5.15.11

How to fix this CVE

Update your Linux kernel to version 5.15.11 or later to resolve this memory handling vulnerability in the SCSI debug driver. The issue occurs when kcalloc() is called with a zero size parameter, returning a special pointer that bypasses subsequent null checks and can cause a null pointer dereference during memory copy operations. Kernel updates should be applied promptly and followed by a system reboot to ensure the patched code is active.

sudo dnf update kernel kernel-devel && sudo reboot

Defensia detects this vulnerability

How to check if you are affected

  1. Run 'uname -r' to check the currently running kernel version and verify if it is 5.15.11 or later
  2. Check if scsi_debug module is loaded by running 'lsmod | grep scsi_debug' — if output appears, the vulnerable component may be active
  3. Search kernel logs for null pointer dereference errors related to sg_copy_buffer or scsi_debug: 'sudo dmesg | grep -i "null.*ptr\|scsi_debug\|sg_copy_buffer"'
  4. After applying the kernel update and rebooting, verify the new version with 'uname -r' and confirm it shows 5.15.11 or later

FAQ

What is CVE-2021-47578?

CVE-2021-47578 is a null pointer dereference vulnerability in the Linux kernel's SCSI debug driver that occurs when memory allocation functions return special pointers instead of NULL, bypassing safety checks and causing crashes during I/O operations.

Is CVE-2021-47578 being actively exploited?

No, this vulnerability is not listed as actively exploited by CISA and no public exploits are available. However, it can still cause denial of service through unexpected kernel crashes.

What versions of Kernel are affected by CVE-2021-47578?

Kernel versions 5.11 through 5.15.10 are vulnerable. Version 5.15.11 and later contain the fix.

How do I check if my server is vulnerable to CVE-2021-47578?

Run 'uname -r' to display your kernel version. If it is between 5.11 and 5.15.10, your system is vulnerable and should be updated immediately.

Does Defensia detect CVE-2021-47578?

Yes — Defensia's CVE advisory scanner compares installed package versions against the NVD database. If Kernel is installed on a monitored server, CVE-2021-47578 will appear in your dashboard with remediation steps.

Related Kernel CVEs

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CVE-2026-64268CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: RDMA/siw: bound Read Response placement to the RREAD length In drivers/infiniband/sw/siw/siw_qp_rx.c, siw_proc_rresp() places each inbound Read Response DDP segment at sge->laddr + wqe->processed and then accumulates wqe->processed, but it never checks the running total against the sink buffer length on continuation segments. siw_check_sge() resolves and validates the sink memory only on the first fragment (the if (!*mem) branch), and siw_rresp_check_ntoh() compares the cumulative length against wqe->bytes only on the final segment (the !frx->more_ddp_segs guard). A connected siw peer that answers an outstanding RREAD with Read Response segments that keep the DDP Last flag clear, carrying more total payload than the RREAD requested, drives wqe->processed past the validated sink buffer; the next siw_rx_data() call writes out of bounds at sge->laddr + wqe->processed. siw runs iWARP over ordinary routable TCP, so the peer is the remote end of an established RDMA connection and needs no local privilege. Bound every segment before placement, exactly as siw_proc_send() and siw_proc_write() already do for their tagged and untagged paths, and terminate the connection with a base-or-bounds DDP error when the Read Response would overrun the sink buffer. This is the second receive-path length fix for this file. A separate change rejects an MPA FPDU length that underflows the per-fragment remainder in the header decode; that guard does not cover this case, because here each individual segment length is self-consistent and only the accumulated placement offset overruns the buffer.
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CVE-2026-53384CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: serial: 8250_dw: unregister 8250 port if clk_notifier_register() fails dw8250_probe() registers the 8250 port via serial8250_register_8250_port() and then, if the device has a clock, registers a clock notifier. If clk_notifier_register() fails, probe returns the error but leaves the 8250 port registered. The matching serial8250_unregister_port() lives in dw8250_remove(), which is not called when probe fails, so the port slot stays occupied until the device is rebound or the system is rebooted. The devm-allocated driver data is freed while the port still references it (via the saved private_data and serial_in/serial_out callbacks), so any access to that port slot before a rebind is a use-after-free hazard. Unregister the port on the clk_notifier_register() error path.

References

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