# CVE-2021-46921: locking/qrwlock: Fix ordering in queued_write_lock_slowpath()

> A race condition in the Linux kernel's qrwlock implementation allows readers to observe stale data, potentially causing system instability or information disclosure.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **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:** Yes
- **Published:** 27 Feb 2024
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2021-46921, GHSA-8j25-5vwv-hm2f, UBUNTU-CVE-2021-46921

## What is CVE-2021-46921?

CVE-2021-46921 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:

locking/qrwlock: Fix ordering in queued_write_lock_slowpath()

While this code is executed with the wait_lock held, a reader can
acquire the lock without holding wait_lock.  The writer side loops
checking the value with the atomic_cond_read_acquire(), but only truly
acquires the lock when the compare-and-exchange is completed
successfully which isn’t ordered. This exposes the window between the
acquire and the cmpxchg to an A-B-A problem which allows reads
following the lock acquisition to observe values speculatively before
the write lock is truly acquired.

We've seen a problem in epoll where the reader does a xchg while
holding the read lock, but the writer can see a value change out from
under it.

  Writer                                | Reader
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  ep_scan_ready_list()                  |
  |- write_lock_irq()                   |
      |- queued_write_lock_slowpath()   |
	|- atomic_cond_read_acquire()   |
				        | read_lock_irqsave(&ep->lock, flags);
     --> (observes value before unlock) |  chain_epi_lockless()
     |                                  |    epi->next = xchg(&ep->ovflist, epi);
     |                                  | read_unlock_irqrestore(&ep->lock, flags);
     |                                  |
     |     atomic_cmpxchg_relaxed()     |
     |-- READ_ONCE(ep->ovflist);        |

A core can order the read of the ovflist ahead of the
atomic_cmpxchg_relaxed(). Switching the cmpxchg to use acquire
semantics addresses this issue at which point the atomic_cond_read can
be switched to use relaxed semantics.

[peterz: use try_cmpxchg()]

Weakness: CWE-668 (Exposure of Resource to Wrong Sphere)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-46921?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-46921?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2021-46921 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-46921 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-46921 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-46921 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.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-46921 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-46921/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-46921/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-46921
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-46921
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-46921

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-46921/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.