Use-After-Free in Linux kernel (CVE-2021-47131)
Summary
Vulnerability in Linux kernel (CVE-2021-47131). 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:
net/tls: Fix use-after-free after the TLS device goes down and up
When a netdev with active TLS offload goes down, tls_device_down is
called to stop the offload and tear down the TLS context. However, the
socket stays alive, and it still points to the TLS context, which is now
deallocated. If a netdev goes up, while the connection is still active,
and the data flow resumes after a number of TCP retransmissions, it will
lead to a use-after-free of the TLS context.
This commit addresses this bug by keeping the context alive until its
normal destruction, and implements the necessary fallbacks, so that the
connection can resume in software (non-offloaded) kTLS mode.
On the TX side tls_sw_fallback is used to encrypt all packets. The RX
side already has all the necessary fallbacks, because receiving
non-decrypted packets is supported. The thing needed on the RX side is
to block resync requests, which are normally produced after receiving
non-decrypted packets.
The necessary synchronization is implemented for a graceful teardown:
first the fallbacks are deployed, then the driver resources are released
(it used to be possible to have a tls_dev_resync after tls_dev_del).
A new flag called TLS_RX_DEV_DEGRADED is added to indicate the fallback
mode. It's used to skip the RX resync logic completely, as it becomes
useless, and some objects may be released (for example, resync_async,
which is allocated and freed by t…
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-2021-47131 has been found in Linux kernel.
Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover. CVSS score: 8.1/10.
What to do: apply the vendor's official patched release.
If unsure, ask your IT team or search "Linux kernel CVE-2021-47131" on the vendor's site.
CVE-2021-47131 (Linux kernel) — CWE-416 / CVSS v3 8.1
Attack vector: remote (network-reachable) / unauthenticated / 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 8.1/10). 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-2021-47131 linux Fixed in: 5.10.46-1
- Ubuntu UBUNTU-CVE-2021-47131 linux-hwe-edge
References
- patch git.kernel.org
- patch git.kernel.org
- patch git.kernel.org