Use-After-Free in Linux kernel (CVE-2021-46958)
Summary
Vulnerability in Linux kernel (CVE-2021-46958). Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover.
Original description
The description as published by the source.
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
btrfs: fix race between transaction aborts and fsyncs leading to use-after-free
There is a race between a task aborting a transaction during a commit,
a task doing an fsync and the transaction kthread, which leads to an
use-after-free of the log root tree. When this happens, it results in a
stack trace like the following:
BTRFS info (device dm-0): forced readonly
BTRFS warning (device dm-0): Skipping commit of aborted transaction.
BTRFS: error (device dm-0) in cleanup_transaction:1958: errno=-5 IO failure
BTRFS warning (device dm-0): lost page write due to IO error on /dev/mapper/error-test (-5)
BTRFS warning (device dm-0): Skipping commit of aborted transaction.
BTRFS warning (device dm-0): direct IO failed ino 261 rw 0,0 sector 0xa4e8 len 4096 err no 10
BTRFS error (device dm-0): error writing primary super block to device 1
BTRFS warning (device dm-0): direct IO failed ino 261 rw 0,0 sector 0x12e000 len 4096 err no 10
BTRFS warning (device dm-0): direct IO failed ino 261 rw 0,0 sector 0x12e008 len 4096 err no 10
BTRFS warning (device dm-0): direct IO failed ino 261 rw 0,0 sector 0x12e010 len 4096 err no 10
BTRFS: error (device dm-0) in write_all_supers:4110: errno=-5 IO failure (1 errors while writing supers)
BTRFS: error (device dm-0) in btrfs_sync_log:3308: errno=-5 IO failure
general protection fault, probably for non-canonical address 0x6b6b6b6b6b6b6b68: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT S…
Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database NVD
Auto-generated summary
Assembled by SecPulse from the source data (CVSS, CWE, affected versions) using templates — no AI involved. Check the original description and references below for exact details.
A vulnerability tracked as CVE-2021-46958 has been found in Linux kernel.
Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover. CVSS score: 7.8/10.
What to do: apply the vendor's official patched release.
If unsure, ask your IT team or search "Linux kernel CVE-2021-46958" on the vendor's site.
CVE-2021-46958 (Linux kernel) — CWE-416 / CVSS v3 7.8
Attack vector: local / no user interaction
Plan: 1) Audit SBOM/dependencies, 2) Stage→prod upgrade, 3) Add WAF/proxy monitoring on affected endpoints, 4) Hunt IOCs in logs.
Refs: see the GHSA / vendor advisory / patched release linked on this page.
Use-after-free (CWE-416) exists in Linux kernel.
Check the vendor advisory for the affected versions of Linux kernel.
Severity: High (CVSS 7.8/10). Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover.
Update to the patched release per vendor advisory.
Until the patch is applied: disable the affected feature, apply WAF rules, or restrict access via network ACLs.
Search webserver/proxy logs for unusual request patterns matching this CVE's known IOCs. Audit SBOM/dependencies to find affected services.
Response actions
Concrete steps and command examples for SOC/SRE teams to execute in order
-
1Identify exposure identify
Audit SBOM/dependencies for affected components.資産台帳・SBOM・依存マニフェストで Linux kernel を使っているサービスとバージョンを洗い出す。
-
2Post-deployment verification verify
Confirm patched version is live in productionパッチ適用後、ステージングで PoC または同等の悪用パターンを再現して脆弱性が閉じたことを確認。本番ではアクセスログ・WAF でアラート再発が無いか継続監視。
Fix status by distribution
Fixed packages published by each distribution for this CVE
- Debian DEBIAN-CVE-2021-46958 linux Fixed in: 5.10.38-1
- Ubuntu UBUNTU-CVE-2021-46958 linux-hwe-edge
References
- patch git.kernel.org
- patch git.kernel.org
- patch git.kernel.org
- patch git.kernel.org