CVE-2021-47544

CVE-2021-47544 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux Linux Kernel with a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.9. 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: tcp: fix page frag corruption on page fault Steffen reported a TCP stream corruption for HTTP requests served by the apache web-server using a cifs mount-point and memory mapping the relevant file. The root cause is quite similar to the one addressed by commit 20eb4f29b602 ("net: fix sk_page_frag() recursion from memory reclaim"). Here the nested access to the task page frag is caused by a page fault on the (mmapped) user-space memory buffer coming from the cifs file. The page fault handler performs an smb transaction on a different socket, inside the same process context. Since sk->sk_allaction for such socket does not prevent the usage for the task_frag, the nested allocation modify "under the hood" the page frag in use by the outer sendmsg call, corrupting the stream. The overall relevant stack trace looks like the following: httpd 78268 [001] 3461630.850950: probe:tcp_sendmsg_locked: ffffffff91461d91 tcp_sendmsg_locked+0x1 ffffffff91462b57 tcp_sendmsg+0x27 ffffffff9139814e sock_sendmsg+0x3e ffffffffc06dfe1d smb_send_kvec+0x28 [...] ffffffffc06cfaf8 cifs_readpages+0x213 ffffffff90e83c4b read_pages+0x6b ffffffff90e83f31 __do_page_cache_readahead+0x1c1 ffffffff90e79e98 filemap_fault+0x788 ffffffff90eb0458 __do_fault+0x38 ffffffff90eb5280 do_fault+0x1a0 ffffffff90eb7c84 __handle_mm_fault+0x4d4 ffffffff90eb8093 handle_mm_fault+0xc3 ffffffff90c74f6d __do_page_fault+0x1ed ffffffff90c75277 do_page_fault+0x37 ffffffff9160111e page_fault+0x1e ffffffff9109e7b5 copyin+0x25 ffffffff9109eb40 _copy_from_iter_full+0xe0 ffffffff91462370 tcp_sendmsg_locked+0x5e0 ffffffff91462370 tcp_sendmsg_locked+0x5e0 ffffffff91462b57 tcp_sendmsg+0x27 ffffffff9139815c sock_sendmsg+0x4c ffffffff913981f7 sock_write_iter+0x97 ffffffff90f2cc56 do_iter_readv_writev+0x156 ffffffff90f2dff0 do_iter_write+0x80 ffffffff90f2e1c3 vfs_writev+0xa3 ffffffff90f2e27c do_writev+0x5c ffffffff90c042bb do_syscall_64+0x5b ffffffff916000ad entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x65 The cifs filesystem rightfully sets sk_allocations to GFP_NOFS, we can avoid the nesting using the sk page frag for allocation lacking the __GFP_FS flag. Do not define an additional mm-helper for that, as this is strictly tied to the sk page frag usage. v1 -> v2: - use a stricted sk_page_frag() check instead of reordering the code (Eric)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-47544?
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tcp: fix page frag corruption on page fault Steffen reported a TCP stream corruption for HTTP requests served by the apache web-server using a cifs mount-point and memory mapping the relevant file. The root cause is quite similar to the one addressed by commit 20eb4f29b602 ("net: fix sk_page_frag() recursion from memory reclaim"). Here the nested access to the task page frag is caused by a page fault on the (mmapped) user-space memory buffer coming from the cifs file. The page fault handler performs an smb transaction on a different socket, inside the same process context. Since sk->sk_allaction for such socket does not prevent the usage for the task_frag, the nested allocation modify "under the hood" the page frag in use by the outer sendmsg call, corrupting the stream. The overall relevant stack trace looks like the following: httpd 78268 [001] 3461630.850950: probe:tcp_sendmsg_locked: ffffffff91461d91 tcp_sendmsg_locked+0x1 ffffffff91462b57 tcp_sendmsg+0x27 ffffffff9139814e sock_sendmsg+0x3e ffffffffc06dfe1d smb_send_kvec+0x28 [...] ffffffffc06cfaf8 cifs_readpages+0x213 ffffffff90e83c4b read_pages+0x6b ffffffff90e83f31 __do_page_cache_readahead+0x1c1 ffffffff90e79e98 filemap_fault+0x788 ffffffff90eb0458 __do_fault+0x38 ffffffff90eb5280 do_fault+0x1a0 ffffffff90eb7c84 __handle_mm_fault+0x4d4 ffffffff90eb8093 handle_mm_fault+0xc3 ffffffff90c74f6d __do_page_fault+0x1ed ffffffff90c75277 do_page_fault+0x37 ffffffff9160111e page_fault+0x1e ffffffff9109e7b5 copyin+0x25 ffffffff9109eb40 _copy_from_iter_full+0xe0 ffffffff91462370 tcp_sendmsg_locked+0x5e0 ffffffff91462370 tcp_sendmsg_locked+0x5e0 ffffffff91462b57 tcp_sendmsg+0x27 ffffffff9139815c sock_sendmsg+0x4c ffffffff913981f7 sock_write_iter+0x97 ffffffff90f2cc56 do_iter_readv_writev+0x156 ffffffff90f2dff0 do_iter_write+0x80 ffffffff90f2e1c3 vfs_writev+0xa3 ffffffff90f2e27c do_writev+0x5c ffffffff90c042bb do_syscall_64+0x5b ffffffff916000ad entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x65 The cifs filesystem rightfully sets sk_allocations to GFP_NOFS, we can avoid the nesting using the sk page frag for allocation lacking the __GFP_FS flag. Do not define an additional mm-helper for that, as this is strictly tied to the sk page frag usage. v1 -> v2: - use a stricted sk_page_frag() check instead of reordering the code (Eric)
How severe is CVE-2021-47544?
CVE-2021-47544 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.9, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over network with high attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity none, and availability none.
Is CVE-2021-47544 being actively exploited?
It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (50th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2021-47544?
CVE-2021-47544 primarily affects Linux Linux Kernel. In total, 4 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2021-47544?
Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
Does CVE-2021-47544 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?
Yes. CVE-2021-47544 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2021-34546.
When was CVE-2021-47544 published?
CVE-2021-47544 was published on 2024-05-24 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (4)

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