CVE-2021-46988
MEDIUMDescription
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: userfaultfd: release page in error path to avoid BUG_ON Consider the following sequence of events: 1. Userspace issues a UFFD ioctl, which ends up calling into shmem_mfill_atomic_pte(). We successfully account the blocks, we shmem_alloc_page(), but then the copy_from_user() fails. We return -ENOENT. We don't release the page we allocated. 2. Our caller detects this error code, tries the copy_from_user() after dropping the mmap_lock, and retries, calling back into shmem_mfill_atomic_pte(). 3. Meanwhile, let's say another process filled up the tmpfs being used. 4. So shmem_mfill_atomic_pte() fails to account blocks this time, and immediately returns - without releasing the page. This triggers a BUG_ON in our caller, which asserts that the page should always be consumed, unless -ENOENT is returned. To fix this, detect if we have such a "dangling" page when accounting fails, and if so, release it before returning.
How to fix
Remediation is compiled from vendor and distribution security advisories. Always confirm against the linked source for your exact version and platform.
CVSS v3 Vector
Exploitability
Impact
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Exploit Intelligence
Low risk: more likely to be exploited than 15% of all known CVEs.
References
Related Vulnerabilities
Other CWE-416 (Use After Free) vulnerabilities, ordered by exploit likelihood. View all
| CVE | Severity | CVSS | EPSS | Exploited | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2019-0708 | Critical | 9.8 | 100% | KEV + Ransom | - |
| CVE-2021-31166 | Critical | 9.8 | 100% | KEV | Fix |
| CVE-2015-5119 | Critical | 9.8 | 99% | KEV | - |
| CVE-2010-3962 | High | 8.1 | 97% | KEV | - |
| CVE-2015-0313 | Critical | 9.8 | 96% | KEV | Fix |
| CVE-2017-9798 | High | 7.5 | 95% | - | Fix |
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Start freeThis product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2024-12-26.