# CVE-2021-46960: cifs: Return correct error code from smb2_get_enc_key > A bug in the Linux kernel CIFS module returns an incorrect error code, triggering a kernel warning and potential instability during file operations. - **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`) - **Exploited in the wild:** Not known - **Login needed:** Not needed - **Attackable:** Over the internet - **Victim action needed:** Not needed - **Fix available:** Yes - **Published:** 27 Feb 2024 - **Updated:** 5 Aug 2026 - **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2021-46960, GHSA-cxc6-784q-9f49, RHSA-2025:2265, UBUNTU-CVE-2021-46960 ## What is CVE-2021-46960? CVE-2021-46960 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 27 Feb 2024. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim. ### Official description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: cifs: Return correct error code from smb2_get_enc_key Avoid a warning if the error percolates back up: [440700.376476] CIFS VFS: \\otters.example.com crypt_message: Could not get encryption key [440700.386947] ------------[ cut here ]------------ [440700.386948] err = 1 [440700.386977] WARNING: CPU: 11 PID: 2733 at /build/linux-hwe-5.4-p6lk6L/linux-hwe-5.4-5.4.0/lib/errseq.c:74 errseq_set+0x5c/0x70 ... [440700.397304] CPU: 11 PID: 2733 Comm: tar Tainted: G OE 5.4.0-70-generic #78~18.04.1-Ubuntu ... [440700.397334] Call Trace: [440700.397346] __filemap_set_wb_err+0x1a/0x70 [440700.397419] cifs_writepages+0x9c7/0xb30 [cifs] [440700.397426] do_writepages+0x4b/0xe0 [440700.397444] __filemap_fdatawrite_range+0xcb/0x100 [440700.397455] filemap_write_and_wait+0x42/0xa0 [440700.397486] cifs_setattr+0x68b/0xf30 [cifs] [440700.397493] notify_change+0x358/0x4a0 [440700.397500] utimes_common+0xe9/0x1c0 [440700.397510] do_utimes+0xc5/0x150 [440700.397520] __x64_sys_utimensat+0x88/0xd0 ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-46960? It affects 1 product. | Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | `bpftool` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:4.18.0-372.139.1.el8_6 | | `bpftool-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:4.18.0-372.139.1.el8_6 | | `kernel` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:4.18.0-372.139.1.el8_6 | | `kernel-abi-stablelists` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:4.18.0-372.139.1.el8_6 | | `kernel-core` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:4.18.0-372.139.1.el8_6 | | `kernel-debug` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:4.18.0-372.139.1.el8_6 | | `kernel-debug-core` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:4.18.0-372.139.1.el8_6 | | `kernel-debug-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:4.18.0-372.139.1.el8_6 | | `kernel-debug-devel` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:4.18.0-372.139.1.el8_6 | | `kernel-debug-modules` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:4.18.0-372.139.1.el8_6 | | `kernel-debug-modules-extra` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:4.18.0-372.139.1.el8_6 | | `kernel-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:4.18.0-372.139.1.el8_6 | | `kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:4.18.0-372.139.1.el8_6 | | `kernel-devel` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:4.18.0-372.139.1.el8_6 | | `kernel-doc` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:4.18.0-372.139.1.el8_6 | | `kernel-modules` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:4.18.0-372.139.1.el8_6 | | `kernel-modules-extra` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:4.18.0-372.139.1.el8_6 | | `kernel-tools` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:4.18.0-372.139.1.el8_6 | | `kernel-tools-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:4.18.0-372.139.1.el8_6 | | `kernel-tools-libs` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:4.18.0-372.139.1.el8_6 | | `perf` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:4.18.0-372.139.1.el8_6 | | `perf-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:4.18.0-372.139.1.el8_6 | | `python3-perf` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:4.18.0-372.139.1.el8_6 | | `python3-perf-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:4.18.0-372.139.1.el8_6 | | `bpftool` | Red Hat:rhel_e4s:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:4.18.0-372.139.1.el8_6 | | `bpftool-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_e4s:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:4.18.0-372.139.1.el8_6 | | `kernel` | Red Hat:rhel_e4s:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:4.18.0-372.139.1.el8_6 | | `kernel-abi-stablelists` | Red Hat:rhel_e4s:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:4.18.0-372.139.1.el8_6 | | `kernel-core` | Red Hat:rhel_e4s:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:4.18.0-372.139.1.el8_6 | | `kernel-debug` | Red Hat:rhel_e4s:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:4.18.0-372.139.1.el8_6 | | `kernel-debug-core` | Red Hat:rhel_e4s:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:4.18.0-372.139.1.el8_6 | | `kernel-debug-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_e4s:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:4.18.0-372.139.1.el8_6 | | `kernel-debug-devel` | Red Hat:rhel_e4s:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:4.18.0-372.139.1.el8_6 | | `kernel-debug-modules` | Red Hat:rhel_e4s:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:4.18.0-372.139.1.el8_6 | | `kernel-debug-modules-extra` | Red Hat:rhel_e4s:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:4.18.0-372.139.1.el8_6 | | `kernel-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_e4s:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:4.18.0-372.139.1.el8_6 | | `kernel-debuginfo-common-aarch64` | Red Hat:rhel_e4s:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:4.18.0-372.139.1.el8_6 | | `kernel-debuginfo-common-ppc64le` | Red Hat:rhel_e4s:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:4.18.0-372.139.1.el8_6 | | `kernel-debuginfo-common-s390x` | Red Hat:rhel_e4s:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:4.18.0-372.139.1.el8_6 | | `kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64` | Red Hat:rhel_e4s:8.6::baseos | All versions | 0:4.18.0-372.139.1.el8_6 | Products: Linux kernel. ## How do I fix CVE-2021-46960? Apply the vendor's patch. ## Is CVE-2021-46960 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-46960 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-2021-46960 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2021-46960 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 27 Feb 2024. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim. Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-46960 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-2021-46960/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-46960/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-46960 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-46960 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-46960 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-46960/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.