# CVE-2021-47553: sched/scs: Reset task stack state in bringup_cpu()

> A Linux kernel flaw allows stale shadow call stack pointers to cause memory leaks and potential denial of service during CPU hotplug operations.

- **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:** 24 May 2024
- **Updated:** 23 May 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2021-47553, UBUNTU-CVE-2021-47553

## What is CVE-2021-47553?

CVE-2021-47553 is a high-severity memory corruption 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:

sched/scs: Reset task stack state in bringup_cpu()

To hot unplug a CPU, the idle task on that CPU calls a few layers of C
code before finally leaving the kernel. When KASAN is in use, poisoned
shadow is left around for each of the active stack frames, and when
shadow call stacks are in use. When shadow call stacks (SCS) are in use
the task's saved SCS SP is left pointing at an arbitrary point within
the task's shadow call stack.

When a CPU is offlined than onlined back into the kernel, this stale
state can adversely affect execution. Stale KASAN shadow can alias new
stackframes and result in bogus KASAN warnings. A stale SCS SP is
effectively a memory leak, and prevents a portion of the shadow call
stack being used. Across a number of hotplug cycles the idle task's
entire shadow call stack can become unusable.

We previously fixed the KASAN issue in commit:

  e1b77c92981a5222 ("sched/kasan: remove stale KASAN poison after hotplug")

... by removing any stale KASAN stack poison immediately prior to
onlining a CPU.

Subsequently in commit:

  f1a0a376ca0c4ef1 ("sched/core: Initialize the idle task with preemption disabled")

... the refactoring left the KASAN and SCS cleanup in one-time idle
thread initialization code rather than something invoked prior to each
CPU being onlined, breaking both as above.

We fixed SCS (but not KASAN) in commit:

  63acd42c0d4942f7 ("sched/scs: Reset the shadow stack when idle_task_exit")

... but as this runs in the context of the idle task being offlined it's
potentially fragile.

To fix these consistently and more robustly, reset the SCS SP and KASAN
shadow of a CPU's idle task immediately before we online that CPU in
bringup_cpu(). This ensures the idle task always has a consistent state
when it is running, and removes the need to so so when exiting an idle
task.

Whenever any thread is created, dup_task_struct() will give the task a
stack which is free of KASAN shadow, and initialize the task's SCS SP,
so there's no need to specially initialize either for idle thread within
init_idle(), as this was only necessary to handle hotplug cycles.

I've tested this on arm64 with:

* gcc 11.1.0, defconfig +KASAN_INLINE, KASAN_STACK
* clang 12.0.0, defconfig +KASAN_INLINE, KASAN_STACK, SHADOW_CALL_STACK

... offlining and onlining CPUS with:

| while true; do
|   for C in /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu*/online; do
|     echo 0 > $C;
|     echo 1 > $C;
|   done
| done

Weakness: CWE-908 (Use of Uninitialized Resource)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-47553?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-47553?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2021-47553 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-47553 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-2021-47553 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-47553 is a high-severity memory corruption 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.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-47553 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-2021-47553/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-47553/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-47553
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-47553
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-47553

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-47553/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.