# CVE-2021-47640: powerpc/kasan: Fix early region not updated correctly

> A flaw in the Linux kernel's KASAN implementation on PowerPC causes incorrect shadow page table updates, leading to false positives and negatives in memory error detection.

- **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:** 26 Feb 2025
- **Updated:** 23 May 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2021-47640, GHSA-wv3g-qf6c-pg8j, UBUNTU-CVE-2021-47640

## What is CVE-2021-47640?

CVE-2021-47640 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 26 Feb 2025. 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:

powerpc/kasan: Fix early region not updated correctly

The shadow's page table is not updated when PTE_RPN_SHIFT is 24
and PAGE_SHIFT is 12. It not only causes false positives but
also false negative as shown the following text.

Fix it by bringing the logic of kasan_early_shadow_page_entry here.

1. False Positive:
==================================================================
BUG: KASAN: vmalloc-out-of-bounds in pcpu_alloc+0x508/0xa50
Write of size 16 at addr f57f3be0 by task swapper/0/1

CPU: 0 PID: 1 Comm: swapper/0 Not tainted 5.15.0-12267-gdebe436e77c7 #1
Call Trace:
[c80d1c20] [c07fe7b8] dump_stack_lvl+0x4c/0x6c (unreliable)
[c80d1c40] [c02ff668] print_address_description.constprop.0+0x88/0x300
[c80d1c70] [c02ff45c] kasan_report+0x1ec/0x200
[c80d1cb0] [c0300b20] kasan_check_range+0x160/0x2f0
[c80d1cc0] [c03018a4] memset+0x34/0x90
[c80d1ce0] [c0280108] pcpu_alloc+0x508/0xa50
[c80d1d40] [c02fd7bc] __kmem_cache_create+0xfc/0x570
[c80d1d70] [c0283d64] kmem_cache_create_usercopy+0x274/0x3e0
[c80d1db0] [c2036580] init_sd+0xc4/0x1d0
[c80d1de0] [c00044a0] do_one_initcall+0xc0/0x33c
[c80d1eb0] [c2001624] kernel_init_freeable+0x2c8/0x384
[c80d1ef0] [c0004b14] kernel_init+0x24/0x170
[c80d1f10] [c001b26c] ret_from_kernel_thread+0x5c/0x64

Memory state around the buggy address:
 f57f3a80: f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8
 f57f3b00: f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8
>f57f3b80: f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8
                                               ^
 f57f3c00: f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8
 f57f3c80: f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8
==================================================================

2. False Negative (with KASAN tests):
==================================================================
Before fix:
    ok 45 - kmalloc_double_kzfree
    # vmalloc_oob: EXPECTATION FAILED at lib/test_kasan.c:1039
    KASAN failure expected in "((volatile char *)area)[3100]", but none occurred
    not ok 46 - vmalloc_oob
    not ok 1 - kasan

==================================================================
After fix:
    ok 1 - kasan

Weakness: CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-47640?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-47640?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2021-47640 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-47640 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-2021-47640 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-47640 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 26 Feb 2025. 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-2021-47640 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-2021-47640/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-47640/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-47640
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-47640
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-47640

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-47640/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.