CVE-2021-47640

High

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: powerpc/kasan: Fix early region not updated correctly The shadow's page table is not updated when PTE_RPN_SHIFT is 24 and PAGE_SHIFT is 12. It not only causes false positives but also false negative as shown the following text. Fix it by bringing the logic of kasan_early_shadow_page_entry here. 1. False Positive: ================================================================== BUG: KASAN: vmalloc-out-of-bounds in pcpu_alloc+0x508/0xa50 Write of size 16 at addr f57f3be0 by task swapper/0/1 CPU: 0 PID: 1 Comm: swapper/0 Not tainted 5.15.0-12267-gdebe436e77c7 #1 Call Trace: [c80d1c20] [c07fe7b8] dump_stack_lvl+0x4c/0x6c (unreliable) [c80d1c40] [c02ff668] print_address_description.constprop.0+0x88/0x300 [c80d1c70] [c02ff45c] kasan_report+0x1ec/0x200 [c80d1cb0] [c0300b20] kasan_check_range+0x160/0x2f0 [c80d1cc0] [c03018a4] memset+0x34/0x90 [c80d1ce0] [c0280108] pcpu_alloc+0x508/0xa50 [c80d1d40] [c02fd7bc] __kmem_cache_create+0xfc/0x570 [c80d1d70] [c0283d64] kmem_cache_create_usercopy+0x274/0x3e0 [c80d1db0] [c2036580] init_sd+0xc4/0x1d0 [c80d1de0] [c00044a0] do_one_initcall+0xc0/0x33c [c80d1eb0] [c2001624] kernel_init_freeable+0x2c8/0x384 [c80d1ef0] [c0004b14] kernel_init+0x24/0x170 [c80d1f10] [c001b26c] ret_from_kernel_thread+0x5c/0x64 Memory state around the buggy address: f57f3a80: f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f57f3b00: f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 >f57f3b80: f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 ^ f57f3c00: f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f57f3c80: f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 ================================================================== 2. False Negative (with KASAN tests): ================================================================== Before fix: ok 45 - kmalloc_double_kzfree # vmalloc_oob: EXPECTATION FAILED at lib/test_kasan.c:1039 KASAN failure expected in "((volatile char *)area)[3100]", but none occurred not ok 46 - vmalloc_oob not ok 1 - kasan ================================================================== After fix: ok 1 - kasan

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2025-02-26
Last modified 2025-10-01
CVSS version 3.1
Patch available
Yes

CVSS 3.1 score

7.8

out of 10
High
Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High
Vector string
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Weakness type

CWE-787

CVE-2021-47640 is a Out-of-bounds Write vulnerability

What is Out-of-bounds Write?

The product writes data past the end or before the beginning of the intended buffer. Learn more on MITRE CWE

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 5.3.6, 5.4 and later are affected. Fixed in 5.4.189, 5.10.110, 5.15.33, 5.16.19, 5.17.2, 5.18 and their respective stable series.

Affected from
≥ 5.3.6 ≥ 5.4
Fixed in
✓ 5.4.189 5.4.x ✓ 5.10.110 5.10.x ✓ 5.15.33 5.15.x ✓ 5.16.19 5.16.x ✓ 5.17.2 5.17.x ✓ 5.18

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2021-47640 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.

Frequently asked questions

  • What is CVE-2021-47640?

    CVE-2021-47640 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10 , classified as an Out-of-bounds Write flaw (CWE-787) . It affects Linux kernel versions from 5.3.6 onward and has been patched in 5.4.189, 5.10.110, 5.15.33 and others. CVE-2021-47640 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • What is the CVSS score for CVE-2021-47640?

    CVE-2021-47640 has a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10, rated High severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H .

  • Is there a patch available for CVE-2021-47640?

    Yes — CVE-2021-47640 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.4.189, 5.10.110, 5.15.33 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 5.3.6 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

  • Is CVE-2021-47640 actively exploited?

    No — CVE-2021-47640 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.

  • What is Out-of-bounds Write (CWE-787)?

    The product writes data past the end or before the beginning of the intended buffer. View CWE-787 on MITRE CWE →