medium CVSS 5.5

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
2024-06-19

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

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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