CVE-2021-47011

CVE-2021-47011 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux Linux Kernel with a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.5. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low.

Key facts

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm: memcontrol: slab: fix obtain a reference to a freeing memcg Patch series "Use obj_cgroup APIs to charge kmem pages", v5. Since Roman's series "The new cgroup slab memory controller" applied. All slab objects are charged with the new APIs of obj_cgroup. The new APIs introduce a struct obj_cgroup to charge slab objects. It prevents long-living objects from pinning the original memory cgroup in the memory. But there are still some corner objects (e.g. allocations larger than order-1 page on SLUB) which are not charged with the new APIs. Those objects (include the pages which are allocated from buddy allocator directly) are charged as kmem pages which still hold a reference to the memory cgroup. E.g. We know that the kernel stack is charged as kmem pages because the size of the kernel stack can be greater than 2 pages (e.g. 16KB on x86_64 or arm64). If we create a thread (suppose the thread stack is charged to memory cgroup A) and then move it from memory cgroup A to memory cgroup B. Because the kernel stack of the thread hold a reference to the memory cgroup A. The thread can pin the memory cgroup A in the memory even if we remove the cgroup A. If we want to see this scenario by using the following script. We can see that the system has added 500 dying cgroups (This is not a real world issue, just a script to show that the large kmallocs are charged as kmem pages which can pin the memory cgroup in the memory). #!/bin/bash cat /proc/cgroups | grep memory cd /sys/fs/cgroup/memory echo 1 > memory.move_charge_at_immigrate for i in range{1..500} do mkdir kmem_test echo $$ > kmem_test/cgroup.procs sleep 3600 & echo $$ > cgroup.procs echo `cat kmem_test/cgroup.procs` > cgroup.procs rmdir kmem_test done cat /proc/cgroups | grep memory This patchset aims to make those kmem pages to drop the reference to memory cgroup by using the APIs of obj_cgroup. Finally, we can see that the number of the dying cgroups will not increase if we run the above test script. This patch (of 7): The rcu_read_lock/unlock only can guarantee that the memcg will not be freed, but it cannot guarantee the success of css_get (which is in the refill_stock when cached memcg changed) to memcg. rcu_read_lock() memcg = obj_cgroup_memcg(old) __memcg_kmem_uncharge(memcg) refill_stock(memcg) if (stock->cached != memcg) // css_get can change the ref counter from 0 back to 1. css_get(&memcg->css) rcu_read_unlock() This fix is very like the commit: eefbfa7fd678 ("mm: memcg/slab: fix use after free in obj_cgroup_charge") Fix this by holding a reference to the memcg which is passed to the __memcg_kmem_uncharge() before calling __memcg_kmem_uncharge().

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-47011?
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm: memcontrol: slab: fix obtain a reference to a freeing memcg Patch series "Use obj_cgroup APIs to charge kmem pages", v5. Since Roman's series "The new cgroup slab memory controller" applied. All slab objects are charged with the new APIs of obj_cgroup. The new APIs introduce a struct obj_cgroup to charge slab objects. It prevents long-living objects from pinning the original memory cgroup in the memory. But there are still some corner objects (e.g. allocations larger than order-1 page on SLUB) which are not charged with the new APIs. Those objects (include the pages which are allocated from buddy allocator directly) are charged as kmem pages which still hold a reference to the memory cgroup. E.g. We know that the kernel stack is charged as kmem pages because the size of the kernel stack can be greater than 2 pages (e.g. 16KB on x86_64 or arm64). If we create a thread (suppose the thread stack is charged to memory cgroup A) and then move it from memory cgroup A to memory cgroup B. Because the kernel stack of the thread hold a reference to the memory cgroup A. The thread can pin the memory cgroup A in the memory even if we remove the cgroup A. If we want to see this scenario by using the following script. We can see that the system has added 500 dying cgroups (This is not a real world issue, just a script to show that the large kmallocs are charged as kmem pages which can pin the memory cgroup in the memory). #!/bin/bash cat /proc/cgroups | grep memory cd /sys/fs/cgroup/memory echo 1 > memory.move_charge_at_immigrate for i in range{1..500} do mkdir kmem_test echo $$ > kmem_test/cgroup.procs sleep 3600 & echo $$ > cgroup.procs echo `cat kmem_test/cgroup.procs` > cgroup.procs rmdir kmem_test done cat /proc/cgroups | grep memory This patchset aims to make those kmem pages to drop the reference to memory cgroup by using the APIs of obj_cgroup. Finally, we can see that the number of the dying cgroups will not increase if we run the above test script. This patch (of 7): The rcu_read_lock/unlock only can guarantee that the memcg will not be freed, but it cannot guarantee the success of css_get (which is in the refill_stock when cached memcg changed) to memcg. rcu_read_lock() memcg = obj_cgroup_memcg(old) __memcg_kmem_uncharge(memcg) refill_stock(memcg) if (stock->cached != memcg) // css_get can change the ref counter from 0 back to 1. css_get(&memcg->css) rcu_read_unlock() This fix is very like the commit: eefbfa7fd678 ("mm: memcg/slab: fix use after free in obj_cgroup_charge") Fix this by holding a reference to the memcg which is passed to the __memcg_kmem_uncharge() before calling __memcg_kmem_uncharge().
How severe is CVE-2021-47011?
CVE-2021-47011 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.5, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.
Is CVE-2021-47011 being actively exploited?
It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (15th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2021-47011?
CVE-2021-47011 affects Linux Linux Kernel. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2021-47011?
Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
Does CVE-2021-47011 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?
Yes. CVE-2021-47011 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2021-33659.
When was CVE-2021-47011 published?
CVE-2021-47011 was published on 2024-02-28 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (1)

More vulnerabilities in Linux Linux Kernel

All CVEs affecting Linux Linux Kernel →