# CVE-2021-46925: net/smc: fix kernel panic caused by race of smc_sock

> A race condition in the Linux kernel's SMC protocol allows a local attacker to trigger a kernel panic via a use-after-free scenario.

- **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-2021-46925, GHSA-j3g9-72cw-7wcp, UBUNTU-CVE-2021-46925

## What is CVE-2021-46925?

CVE-2021-46925 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:

net/smc: fix kernel panic caused by race of smc_sock

A crash occurs when smc_cdc_tx_handler() tries to access smc_sock
but smc_release() has already freed it.

[ 4570.695099] BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: 000000002eae9e88
[ 4570.696048] #PF: supervisor write access in kernel mode
[ 4570.696728] #PF: error_code(0x0002) - not-present page
[ 4570.697401] PGD 0 P4D 0
[ 4570.697716] Oops: 0002 [#1] PREEMPT SMP NOPTI
[ 4570.698228] CPU: 0 PID: 0 Comm: swapper/0 Not tainted 5.16.0-rc4+ #111
[ 4570.699013] Hardware name: Alibaba Cloud Alibaba Cloud ECS, BIOS 8c24b4c 04/0
[ 4570.699933] RIP: 0010:_raw_spin_lock+0x1a/0x30
<...>
[ 4570.711446] Call Trace:
[ 4570.711746]  <IRQ>
[ 4570.711992]  smc_cdc_tx_handler+0x41/0xc0
[ 4570.712470]  smc_wr_tx_tasklet_fn+0x213/0x560
[ 4570.712981]  ? smc_cdc_tx_dismisser+0x10/0x10
[ 4570.713489]  tasklet_action_common.isra.17+0x66/0x140
[ 4570.714083]  __do_softirq+0x123/0x2f4
[ 4570.714521]  irq_exit_rcu+0xc4/0xf0
[ 4570.714934]  common_interrupt+0xba/0xe0

Though smc_cdc_tx_handler() checked the existence of smc connection,
smc_release() may have already dismissed and released the smc socket
before smc_cdc_tx_handler() further visits it.

smc_cdc_tx_handler()           |smc_release()
if (!conn)                     |
                               |
                               |smc_cdc_tx_dismiss_slots()
                               |      smc_cdc_tx_dismisser()
                               |
                               |sock_put(&smc->sk) <- last sock_put,
                               |                      smc_sock freed
bh_lock_sock(&smc->sk) (panic) |

To make sure we won't receive any CDC messages after we free the
smc_sock, add a refcount on the smc_connection for inflight CDC
message(posted to the QP but haven't received related CQE), and
don't release the smc_connection until all the inflight CDC messages
haven been done, for both success or failed ones.

Using refcount on CDC messages brings another problem: when the link
is going to be destroyed, smcr_link_clear() will reset the QP, which
then remove all the pending CQEs related to the QP in the CQ. To make
sure all the CQEs will always come back so the refcount on the
smc_connection can always reach 0, smc_ib_modify_qp_reset() was replaced
by smc_ib_modify_qp_error().
And remove the timeout in smc_wr_tx_wait_no_pending_sends() since we
need to wait for all pending WQEs done, or we may encounter use-after-
free when handling CQEs.

For IB device removal routine, we need to wait for all the QPs on that
device been destroyed before we can destroy CQs on the device, or
the refcount on smc_connection won't reach 0 and smc_sock cannot be
released.

Weakness: CWE-362 (Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-46925?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-46925?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2021-46925 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-46925 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-2021-46925 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-46925 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-2021-46925 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-2021-46925/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-46925/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-46925
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-46925
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-46925

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-46925/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.