CVE-2021-46913 netfilter: nftables: clone set element expression template

High 7.8 Published 27 Feb 2024 Updated 5 Aug 2026

A null pointer dereference in the Linux kernel netfilter subsystem allows local attackers to cause a system crash via connlimit set elements.

Exploited in the wild: Not known
Login needed: Any signed-in user
Attackable: Local or same network only
Victim action needed: Not needed
Fix: Available

What is CVE-2021-46913?

CVE-2021-46913 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 27 Feb 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

netfilter: nftables: clone set element expression template

memcpy() breaks when using connlimit in set elements. Use nft_expr_clone() to initialize the connlimit expression list, otherwise connlimit garbage collector crashes when walking on the list head copy.

[ 493.064656] Workqueue: events_power_efficient nft_rhash_gc [nf_tables] [ 493.064685] RIP: 0010:find_or_evict+0x5a/0x90 [nf_conncount] [ 493.064694] Code: 2b 43 40 83 f8 01 77 0d 48 c7 c0 f5 ff ff ff 44 39 63 3c 75 df 83 6d 18 01 48 8b 43 08 48 89 de 48 8b 13 48 8b 3d ee 2f 00 00 <48> 89 42 08 48 89 10 48 b8 00 01 00 00 00 00 ad de 48 89 03 48 83 [ 493.064699] RSP: 0018:ffffc90000417dc0 EFLAGS: 00010297 [ 493.064704] RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: ffff888134f38410 RCX: 0000000000000000 [ 493.064708] RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: ffff888134f38410 RDI: ffff888100060cc0 [ 493.064711] RBP: ffff88812ce594a8 R08: ffff888134f38438 R09: 00000000ebb9025c [ 493.064714] R10: ffffffff8219f838 R11: 0000000000000017 R12: 0000000000000001 [ 493.064718] R13: ffffffff82146740 R14: ffff888134f38410 R15: 0000000000000000 [ 493.064721] FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff88840e440000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 [ 493.064725] CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 [ 493.064729] CR2: 0000000000000008 CR3: 00000001330aa002 CR4: 00000000001706e0 [ 493.064733] Call Trace: [ 493.064737] nf_conncount_gc_list+0x8f/0x150 [nf_conncount] [ 493.064746] nft_rhash_gc+0x106/0x390 [nf_tables]

Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-46913?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Linux kernel.

How do I fix CVE-2021-46913?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Is CVE-2021-46913 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-46913 in the wild and no public exploit code.

All Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Sources

Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2021-46913, GHSA-8mhp-pmjg-f6cw, UBUNTU-CVE-2021-46913.