Use-After-Free in Linux kernel (CVE-2021-47561)
Summary
Vulnerability in Linux kernel (CVE-2021-47561). 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:
i2c: virtio: disable timeout handling
If a timeout is hit, it can result is incorrect data on the I2C bus
and/or memory corruptions in the guest since the device can still be
operating on the buffers it was given while the guest has freed them.
Here is, for example, the start of a slub_debug splat which was
triggered on the next transfer after one transfer was forced to timeout
by setting a breakpoint in the backend (rust-vmm/vhost-device):
BUG kmalloc-1k (Not tainted): Poison overwritten
First byte 0x1 instead of 0x6b
Allocated in virtio_i2c_xfer+0x65/0x35c age=350 cpu=0 pid=29
__kmalloc+0xc2/0x1c9
virtio_i2c_xfer+0x65/0x35c
__i2c_transfer+0x429/0x57d
i2c_transfer+0x115/0x134
i2cdev_ioctl_rdwr+0x16a/0x1de
i2cdev_ioctl+0x247/0x2ed
vfs_ioctl+0x21/0x30
sys_ioctl+0xb18/0xb41
Freed in virtio_i2c_xfer+0x32e/0x35c age=244 cpu=0 pid=29
kfree+0x1bd/0x1cc
virtio_i2c_xfer+0x32e/0x35c
__i2c_transfer+0x429/0x57d
i2c_transfer+0x115/0x134
i2cdev_ioctl_rdwr+0x16a/0x1de
i2cdev_ioctl+0x247/0x2ed
vfs_ioctl+0x21/0x30
sys_ioctl+0xb18/0xb41
There is no simple fix for this (the driver would have to always create
bounce buffers and hold on to them until the device eventually returns
the buffers), so just disable the timeout support for now.
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-2021-47561 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-2021-47561" on the vendor's site.
CVE-2021-47561 (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-2021-47561 linux Fixed in: 5.15.15-1
- Ubuntu UBUNTU-CVE-2021-47561 linux-hwe-edge
References
- patch git.kernel.org
- patch git.kernel.org