# CVE-2021-47169: serial: rp2: use 'request_firmware' instead of 'request_firmware_nowait' > A race condition in the Linux kernel rp2 serial driver allows a NULL pointer dereference, leading to a system crash. - **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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:** 25 Mar 2024 - **Updated:** 11 May 2026 - **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2021-47169, GHSA-q5g9-gxxp-qxh7, UBUNTU-CVE-2021-47169 ## What is CVE-2021-47169? CVE-2021-47169 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 25 Mar 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: serial: rp2: use 'request_firmware' instead of 'request_firmware_nowait' In 'rp2_probe', the driver registers 'rp2_uart_interrupt' then calls 'rp2_fw_cb' through 'request_firmware_nowait'. In 'rp2_fw_cb', if the firmware don't exists, function just return without initializing ports of 'rp2_card'. But now the interrupt handler function has been registered, and when an interrupt comes, 'rp2_uart_interrupt' may access those ports then causing NULL pointer dereference or other bugs. Because the driver does some initialization work in 'rp2_fw_cb', in order to make the driver ready to handle interrupts, 'request_firmware' should be used instead of asynchronous 'request_firmware_nowait'. This report reveals it: INFO: trying to register non-static key. the code is fine but needs lockdep annotation. turning off the locking correctness validator. CPU: 2 PID: 0 Comm: swapper/2 Not tainted 4.19.177-gdba4159c14ef-dirty #45 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS rel-1.12.0-59- gc9ba5276e321-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014 Call Trace: __dump_stack lib/dump_stack.c:77 [inline] dump_stack+0xec/0x156 lib/dump_stack.c:118 assign_lock_key kernel/locking/lockdep.c:727 [inline] register_lock_class+0x14e5/0x1ba0 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:753 __lock_acquire+0x187/0x3750 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:3303 lock_acquire+0x124/0x340 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:3907 __raw_spin_lock include/linux/spinlock_api_smp.h:142 [inline] _raw_spin_lock+0x32/0x50 kernel/locking/spinlock.c:144 spin_lock include/linux/spinlock.h:329 [inline] rp2_ch_interrupt drivers/tty/serial/rp2.c:466 [inline] rp2_asic_interrupt.isra.9+0x15d/0x990 drivers/tty/serial/rp2.c:493 rp2_uart_interrupt+0x49/0xe0 drivers/tty/serial/rp2.c:504 __handle_irq_event_percpu+0xfb/0x770 kernel/irq/handle.c:149 handle_irq_event_percpu+0x79/0x150 kernel/irq/handle.c:189 handle_irq_event+0xac/0x140 kernel/irq/handle.c:206 handle_fasteoi_irq+0x232/0x5c0 kernel/irq/chip.c:725 generic_handle_irq_desc include/linux/irqdesc.h:155 [inline] handle_irq+0x230/0x3a0 arch/x86/kernel/irq_64.c:87 do_IRQ+0xa7/0x1e0 arch/x86/kernel/irq.c:247 common_interrupt+0xf/0xf arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:670 RIP: 0010:native_safe_halt+0x28/0x30 arch/x86/include/asm/irqflags.h:61 Code: 00 00 55 be 04 00 00 00 48 c7 c7 00 c2 2f 8c 48 89 e5 e8 fb 31 e7 f8 8b 05 75 af 8d 03 85 c0 7e 07 0f 00 2d 8a 61 65 00 fb f4 <5d> c3 90 90 90 90 90 90 0f 1f 44 00 00 55 48 89 e5 41 57 41 56 41 RSP: 0018:ffff88806b71fcc8 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: ffffffffffffffde RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: ffffffff8bde7e48 RCX: ffffffff88a21285 RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 0000000000000004 RDI: ffffffff8c2fc200 RBP: ffff88806b71fcc8 R08: fffffbfff185f840 R09: fffffbfff185f840 R10: 0000000000000001 R11: fffffbfff185f840 R12: 0000000000000002 R13: ffffffff8bea18a0 R14: 0000000000000000 R15: 0000000000000000 arch_safe_halt arch/x86/include/asm/paravirt.h:94 [inline] default_idle+0x6f/0x360 arch/x86/kernel/process.c:557 arch_cpu_idle+0xf/0x20 arch/x86/kernel/process.c:548 default_idle_call+0x3b/0x60 kernel/sched/idle.c:93 cpuidle_idle_call kernel/sched/idle.c:153 [inline] do_idle+0x2ab/0x3c0 kernel/sched/idle.c:263 cpu_startup_entry+0xcb/0xe0 kernel/sched/idle.c:369 start_secondary+0x3b8/0x4e0 arch/x86/kernel/smpboot.c:271 secondary_startup_64+0xa4/0xb0 arch/x86/kernel/head_64.S:243 BUG: unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at 0000000000000010 PGD 8000000056d27067 P4D 8000000056d27067 PUD 56d28067 PMD 0 Oops: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP KASAN PTI CPU: 2 PID: 0 Comm: swapper/2 Not tainted 4.19.177-gdba4159c14ef-dirty #45 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS rel-1.12.0-59- gc9ba5276e321-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:readl arch/x86/include/asm/io.h:59 [inline] RIP: 0010:rp2_ch_interrupt drivers/tty/serial/rp2.c:472 [inline] RIP: 0010:rp2_asic_interrupt.isra.9+0x181/0x990 drivers/tty/serial/rp2.c: 493 Co ---truncated--- Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-47169? It affects 1 product. Products: Linux kernel. ## How do I fix CVE-2021-47169? Apply the vendor's patch. ## Is CVE-2021-47169 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-47169 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-2021-47169 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2021-47169 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 25 Mar 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-2021-47169 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-2021-47169/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-47169/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-47169 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-47169 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-47169 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-47169/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.