high CVSS 7.1

CVE-2021-47633·Kernel vulnerability

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ath5k: fix OOB in ath5k_eeprom_read_pcal_info_5111 The bug was found during fuzzing. Stacktrace locates it in ath5k_eeprom_convert_pcal_info_5111. When none of the curve is selected in the loop, idx can go up to AR5K_EEPROM_N_PD_CURVES. The line makes pd out of bound. pd = &chinfo[pier].pd_curves[idx]; There are many OOB writes using pd later in the code. So I added a sanity check for idx. Checks for other loops involving AR5K_EEPROM_N_PD_CURVES are not needed as the loop index is not used outside the loops. The patch is NOT tested with real device. The following is the fuzzing report BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in ath5k_eeprom_read_pcal_info_5111+0x126a/0x1390 [ath5k] Write of size 1 at addr ffff8880174a4d60 by task modprobe/214 CPU: 0 PID: 214 Comm: modprobe Not tainted 5.6.0 #1 Call Trace: dump_stack+0x76/0xa0 print_address_description.constprop.0+0x16/0x200 ? ath5k_eeprom_read_pcal_info_5111+0x126a/0x1390 [ath5k] ? ath5k_eeprom_read_pcal_info_5111+0x126a/0x1390 [ath5k] __kasan_report.cold+0x37/0x7c ? ath5k_eeprom_read_pcal_info_5111+0x126a/0x1390 [ath5k] kasan_report+0xe/0x20 ath5k_eeprom_read_pcal_info_5111+0x126a/0x1390 [ath5k] ? apic_timer_interrupt+0xa/0x20 ? ath5k_eeprom_init_11a_pcal_freq+0xbc0/0xbc0 [ath5k] ? ath5k_pci_eeprom_read+0x228/0x3c0 [ath5k] ath5k_eeprom_init+0x2513/0x6290 [ath5k] ? ath5k_eeprom_init_11a_pcal_freq+0xbc0/0xbc0 [ath5k] ? usleep_range+0xb8/0x100 ? apic_timer_interrupt+0xa/0x20 ? ath5k_eeprom_read_pcal_info_2413+0x2f20/0x2f20 [ath5k] ath5k_hw_init+0xb60/0x1970 [ath5k] ath5k_init_ah+0x6fe/0x2530 [ath5k] ? kasprintf+0xa6/0xe0 ? ath5k_stop+0x140/0x140 [ath5k] ? _dev_notice+0xf6/0xf6 ? apic_timer_interrupt+0xa/0x20 ath5k_pci_probe.cold+0x29a/0x3d6 [ath5k] ? ath5k_pci_eeprom_read+0x3c0/0x3c0 [ath5k] ? mutex_lock+0x89/0xd0 ? ath5k_pci_eeprom_read+0x3c0/0x3c0 [ath5k] local_pci_probe+0xd3/0x160 pci_device_probe+0x23f/0x3e0 ? pci_device_remove+0x280/0x280 ? pci_device_remove+0x280/0x280 really_probe+0x209/0x5d0

Severity: high
Software: Kernel
Fixed in: 5.17.3
Published: 2025-02-26

Affected versions

From: 5.17

Until: 5.17.3

Fixed in: 5.17.3

How to fix this CVE

Update your Linux kernel to version 5.17.3 or later to patch an out-of-bounds memory write vulnerability in the ath5k WiFi driver's EEPROM calibration routine. This flaw allows local attackers with standard user privileges to cause a kernel crash or potentially corrupt memory. Apply the kernel update immediately, particularly for systems using Atheros AR5K wireless adapters.

sudo dnf update kernel kernel-devel

Defensia detects this vulnerability

How to check if you are affected

Step 1: Check your kernel version by running `uname -r` and compare against the affected range 5.17.0-5.17.2
Step 2: Verify if ath5k WiFi driver is loaded with `lsmod | grep ath5k` to confirm the vulnerable component is present
Step 3: Search kernel logs for KASAN errors using `sudo dmesg | grep -i 'ath5k\|slab-out-of-bounds\|kasan' | tail -20`
Step 4: After applying the update, confirm the new kernel is running with `uname -r` and verify ath5k driver loads without errors using `sudo modprobe ath5k && dmesg | tail -5`

FAQ

What is CVE-2021-47633?

This vulnerability is an out-of-bounds memory write in the ath5k WiFi driver's EEPROM power calibration parsing code that occurs when malformed calibration data fails all curve selection checks, causing the array index to exceed bounds and write to invalid kernel memory.

Is CVE-2021-47633 being actively exploited?

No, this vulnerability is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog and no public exploits are available, though it was discovered through fuzzing and affects local privilege escalation scenarios.

What versions of Kernel are affected by CVE-2021-47633?

Linux kernel versions 5.17.0 through 5.17.2 are affected; the vulnerability is patched in version 5.17.3 and later.

How do I check if my server is vulnerable to CVE-2021-47633?

Run `uname -r` to check your kernel version; if it shows 5.17.0, 5.17.1, or 5.17.2, your system is vulnerable. Additionally, run `lsmod | grep ath5k` to confirm the affected driver is loaded.

Does Defensia detect CVE-2021-47633?

Yes — Defensia's CVE advisory scanner compares installed package versions against the NVD database. If the Linux kernel is installed on a monitored server running versions 5.17.0-5.17.2, CVE-2021-47633 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

Track CVEs across your fleet automatically

Defensia scans your Linux servers and tells you exactly which ones are running vulnerable versions — including CVE-2021-47633. Free for 1 server.

Get started free