# CVE-2021-47493: ocfs2: fix race between searching chunks and release journal_head from buffer_head

> A race condition in the OCFS2 filesystem can cause a kernel panic, leading to denial of service.

- **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:** 22 May 2024
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2021-47493, GHSA-gr8j-3pfp-wwr2, UBUNTU-CVE-2021-47493

## What is CVE-2021-47493?

CVE-2021-47493 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 22 May 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:

ocfs2: fix race between searching chunks and release journal_head from buffer_head

Encountered a race between ocfs2_test_bg_bit_allocatable() and
jbd2_journal_put_journal_head() resulting in the below vmcore.

  PID: 106879  TASK: ffff880244ba9c00  CPU: 2   COMMAND: "loop3"
  Call trace:
    panic
    oops_end
    no_context
    __bad_area_nosemaphore
    bad_area_nosemaphore
    __do_page_fault
    do_page_fault
    page_fault
      [exception RIP: ocfs2_block_group_find_clear_bits+316]
    ocfs2_block_group_find_clear_bits [ocfs2]
    ocfs2_cluster_group_search [ocfs2]
    ocfs2_search_chain [ocfs2]
    ocfs2_claim_suballoc_bits [ocfs2]
    __ocfs2_claim_clusters [ocfs2]
    ocfs2_claim_clusters [ocfs2]
    ocfs2_local_alloc_slide_window [ocfs2]
    ocfs2_reserve_local_alloc_bits [ocfs2]
    ocfs2_reserve_clusters_with_limit [ocfs2]
    ocfs2_reserve_clusters [ocfs2]
    ocfs2_lock_refcount_allocators [ocfs2]
    ocfs2_make_clusters_writable [ocfs2]
    ocfs2_replace_cow [ocfs2]
    ocfs2_refcount_cow [ocfs2]
    ocfs2_file_write_iter [ocfs2]
    lo_rw_aio
    loop_queue_work
    kthread_worker_fn
    kthread
    ret_from_fork

When ocfs2_test_bg_bit_allocatable() called bh2jh(bg_bh), the
bg_bh->b_private NULL as jbd2_journal_put_journal_head() raced and
released the jounal head from the buffer head.  Needed to take bit lock
for the bit 'BH_JournalHead' to fix this race.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-47493?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-47493?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2021-47493 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-47493 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-2021-47493 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-47493 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 22 May 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-2021-47493 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-2021-47493/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-47493/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-47493
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-47493
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-47493

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-47493/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.