high CVSS 7.8 EPSS 0.26%

CVE-2021-47589·Kernel vulnerability

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: igbvf: fix double free in `igbvf_probe` In `igbvf_probe`, if register_netdev() fails, the program will go to label err_hw_init, and then to label err_ioremap. In free_netdev() which is just below label err_ioremap, there is `list_for_each_entry_safe` and `netif_napi_del` which aims to delete all entries in `dev->napi_list`. The program has added an entry `adapter->rx_ring->napi` which is added by `netif_napi_add` in igbvf_alloc_queues(). However, adapter->rx_ring has been freed below label err_hw_init. So this a UAF. In terms of how to patch the problem, we can refer to igbvf_remove() and delete the entry before `adapter->rx_ring`. The KASAN logs are as follows: [ 35.126075] BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in free_netdev+0x1fd/0x450 [ 35.127170] Read of size 8 at addr ffff88810126d990 by task modprobe/366 [ 35.128360] [ 35.128643] CPU: 1 PID: 366 Comm: modprobe Not tainted 5.15.0-rc2+ #14 [ 35.129789] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS rel-1.12.0-59-gc9ba5276e321-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014 [ 35.131749] Call Trace: [ 35.132199] dump_stack_lvl+0x59/0x7b [ 35.132865] print_address_description+0x7c/0x3b0 [ 35.133707] ? free_netdev+0x1fd/0x450 [ 35.134378] __kasan_report+0x160/0x1c0 [ 35.135063] ? free_netdev+0x1fd/0x450 [ 35.135738] kasan_report+0x4b/0x70 [ 35.136367] free_netdev+0x1fd/0x450 [ 35.137006] igbvf_probe+0x121d/0x1a10 [igbvf] [ 35.137808] ? igbvf_vlan_rx_add_vid+0x100/0x100 [igbvf] [ 35.138751] local_pci_probe+0x13c/0x1f0 [ 35.139461] pci_device_probe+0x37e/0x6c0 [ 35.165526] [ 35.165806] Allocated by task 366: [ 35.166414] ____kasan_kmalloc+0xc4/0xf0 [ 35.167117] foo_kmem_cache_alloc_trace+0x3c/0x50 [igbvf] [ 35.168078] igbvf_probe+0x9c5/0x1a10 [igbvf] [ 35.168866] local_pci_probe+0x13c/0x1f0 [ 35.169565] pci_device_probe+0x37e/0x6c0 [ 35.179713] [ 35.179993] Freed by task 366: [ 35.180539] kasan_set_track+0x4c/0x80 [ 35.181211] kasan_set_free_info+0x1f/0x40 [ 35.181942] ____kasan_slab_free+0x103/0x140 [ 35.182703] kfree+0xe3/0x250 [ 35.183239] igbvf_probe+0x1173/0x1a10 [igbvf] [ 35.184040] local_pci_probe+0x13c/0x1f0

Severity
high
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 0.26% — higher than 17% 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.

Read the two together. CVE-2021-47589 scores 7.8 on CVSS, so a successful attack would be serious — but at 0.26%, almost nobody is currently attempting it. That is a different situation from a flaw under mass exploitation, and it is usually the difference between patching on your next maintenance window and patching tonight.

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 patch a use-after-free vulnerability in the igbvf network driver that can be triggered during driver initialization failure scenarios. This vulnerability allows a local privileged attacker to cause a denial of service or potentially execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges. Apply the kernel update immediately using your distribution's package manager.

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

Defensia detects this vulnerability

How to check if you are affected

  1. Check your current kernel version: uname -r — compare against 5.15.11; if lower, the system is vulnerable
  2. Verify igbvf driver is loaded: lsmod | grep igbvf — if present, the vulnerable code path is available
  3. Monitor system logs for igbvf probe failures: sudo journalctl -u kernel | grep -i 'igbvf\|register_netdev' — look for device registration errors during driver initialization
  4. After patching, reboot and confirm new kernel version: uname -r — should show 5.15.11 or higher

FAQ

What is CVE-2021-47589?

This vulnerability is a use-after-free condition in the Intel igbvf Ethernet driver's probe function that occurs when network device registration fails, causing the driver to access freed memory during cleanup and potentially enabling code execution or denial of service.

Is CVE-2021-47589 being actively exploited?

No, there is no evidence of active exploitation or public exploits available. However, the high CVSS score (7.8) and local privilege requirement make this a significant risk for systems running affected kernel versions.

What versions of Kernel are affected by CVE-2021-47589?

Linux kernel versions from 5.11 through 5.15.10 are affected. The vulnerability is resolved in kernel 5.15.11 and later.

How do I check if my server is vulnerable to CVE-2021-47589?

Run `uname -r` and compare your kernel version against 5.15.11. If your version is between 5.11 and 5.15.10, and the igbvf driver is in use (`lsmod | grep igbvf`), your system is vulnerable.

Does Defensia detect CVE-2021-47589?

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-2021-47589 will appear in your dashboard with remediation steps.

Related Kernel CVEs

CVE-2026-63795CVSS 10In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: 9p: avoid putting oldfid in p9_client_walk() error path When p9_client_walk() is called with clone set to false, fid aliases oldfid. If the walk subsequently fails after the request has been sent, the error path jumps to clunk_fid, which currently calls p9_fid_put(fid) unconditionally. This drops a reference to oldfid even though ownership of oldfid remains with the caller. If this is the last reference, oldfid can be clunked and destroyed while the caller still expects it to be valid. A later use or put of oldfid can then trigger a use-after-free or refcount underflow. Fix this by only putting fid in the clunk_fid error path when it does not alias oldfid, matching the existing guard in the error path below. This can be triggered when a multi-component walk is split into multiple p9_client_walk() calls and a later non-cloning walk fails. A reproducer and refcount warning logs are available on request.
CVE-2026-46325CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: RDMA/rxe: Fix iova-to-va conversion for MR page sizes != PAGE_SIZE The current implementation incorrectly handles memory regions (MRs) with page sizes different from the system PAGE_SIZE. The core issue is that rxe_set_page() is called with mr->page_size step increments, but the page_list stores individual struct page pointers, each representing PAGE_SIZE of memory. ib_sg_to_page() has ensured that when i>=1 either a) SG[i-1].dma_end and SG[i].dma_addr are contiguous or b) SG[i-1].dma_end and SG[i].dma_addr are mr->page_size aligned. This leads to incorrect iova-to-va conversion in scenarios: 1) page_size < PAGE_SIZE (e.g., MR: 4K, system: 64K): ibmr->iova = 0x181800 sg[0]: dma_addr=0x181800, len=0x800 sg[1]: dma_addr=0x173000, len=0x1000 Access iova = 0x181800 + 0x810 = 0x182010 Expected VA: 0x173010 (second SG, offset 0x10) Before fix: - index = (0x182010 >> 12) - (0x181800 >> 12) = 1 - page_offset = 0x182010 & 0xFFF = 0x10 - xarray[1] stores system page base 0x170000 - Resulting VA: 0x170000 + 0x10 = 0x170010 (wrong) 2) page_size > PAGE_SIZE (e.g., MR: 64K, system: 4K): ibmr->iova = 0x18f800 sg[0]: dma_addr=0x18f800, len=0x800 sg[1]: dma_addr=0x170000, len=0x1000 Access iova = 0x18f800 + 0x810 = 0x190010 Expected VA: 0x170010 (second SG, offset 0x10) Before fix: - index = (0x190010 >> 16) - (0x18f800 >> 16) = 1 - page_offset = 0x190010 & 0xFFFF = 0x10 - xarray[1] stores system page for dma_addr 0x170000 - Resulting VA: system page of 0x170000 + 0x10 = 0x170010 (wrong) Yi Zhang reported a kernel panic[1] years ago related to this defect. Solution: 1. Replace xarray with pre-allocated rxe_mr_page array for sequential indexing (all MR page indices are contiguous) 2. Each rxe_mr_page stores both struct page* and offset within the system page 3. Handle MR page_size != PAGE_SIZE relationships: - page_size > PAGE_SIZE: Split MR pages into multiple system pages - page_size <= PAGE_SIZE: Store offset within system page 4. Add boundary checks and compatibility validation This ensures correct iova-to-va conversion regardless of MR page size and system PAGE_SIZE relationship, while improving performance through array-based sequential access. Tests on 4K and 64K PAGE_SIZE hosts: - rdma-core/pytests $ ./build/bin/run_tests.py --dev eth0_rxe - blktest: $ TIMEOUT=30 QUICK_RUN=1 USE_RXE=1 NVMET_TRTYPES=rdma ./check nvme srp rnbd [1] https://lore.kernel.org/all/CAHj4cs9XRqE25jyVw9rj9YugffLn5+f=1znaBEnu1usLOciD+g@mail.gmail.com/T/
CVE-2026-52914CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: batman-adv: fix fragment reassembly length accounting batman-adv keeps a running payload length for queued fragments and uses it to validate a fragment chain before reassembly. That accounting currently allows the accumulated fragment length to be truncated during updates. As a result, malformed fragment chains can bypass the intended validation and drive reassembly with inconsistent length state, leading to a local denial of service. Fix the accounting by storing the accumulated length in a length-typed field and rejecting update overflows before the existing validation logic runs. The fix was verified against the original reproducer and against valid fragment reassembly paths.
CVE-2026-53151CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: rxrpc: Fix the ACK parser to extract the SACK table for parsing Fix modification of the received skbuff in rxrpc_input_soft_acks() and a potential incorrect access of the buffer in a fragmented UDP packet (the packet would probably have to be deliberately pre-generated as fragmented) when AF_RXRPC tries to extract the contents of the SACK table by copying out the contents of the SACK table into a buffer before attempting to parse AF_RXRPC assumes that it can just call skb_condense() and then validly access the SACK table from skb->data and that it will be a flat buffer - but skb_condense() can silently fail to do anything under some circumstances. Note that whilst rxrpc_input_soft_acks() should be able to parse extended ACKs, the rest of AF_RXRPC doesn't currently support that. Further, there's then no need to call skb_condense() in rxrpc_input_ack(), so don't.
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References

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