CVE-2021-47537 octeontx2-af: Fix a memleak bug in rvu_mbox_init()
A memory leak in the OcteonTX2 AF driver can lead to resource exhaustion and denial of service, requiring kernel patching.
- 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
What is CVE-2021-47537?
CVE-2021-47537 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 24 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:
octeontx2-af: Fix a memleak bug in rvu_mbox_init()
In rvu_mbox_init(), mbox_regions is not freed or passed out under the switch-default region, which could lead to a memory leak.
Fix this bug by changing 'return err' to 'goto free_regions'.
This bug was found by a static analyzer. The analysis employs differential checking to identify inconsistent security operations (e.g., checks or kfrees) between two code paths and confirms that the inconsistent operations are not recovered in the current function or the callers, so they constitute bugs.
Note that, as a bug found by static analysis, it can be a false positive or hard to trigger. Multiple researchers have cross-reviewed the bug.
Builds with CONFIG_OCTEONTX2_AF=y show no new warnings, and our static analyzer no longer warns about this code.
Weakness: CWE-401
Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-47537?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Linux kernel.
How do I fix CVE-2021-47537?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade, then put limits on request size, rate and nesting depth so one client cannot exhaust the service. More about Denial of service.
Is CVE-2021-47537 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-47537 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
Sources
Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2021-47537, UBUNTU-CVE-2021-47537.