CVE-2021-47479: linux kernel vulnerability

What is known

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: staging: rtl8712: fix use-after-free in rtl8712_dl_fw Syzbot reported use-after-free in rtl8712_dl_fw(). The problem was in race condition between r871xu_dev_remove() ->ndo_open() callback. It's easy to see from crash log, that driver accesses released firmware in ->ndo_open() callback. It may happen, since driver was releasing firmware _before_ unregistering netdev. Fix it by moving unregister_netdev() before cleaning up resources. Call Trace: ... rtl871x_open_fw drivers/staging/rtl8712/hal_init.c:83 [inline] rtl8712_dl_fw+0xd95/0xe10 drivers/staging/rtl8712/hal_init.c:170 rtl8712_hal_init drivers/staging/rtl8712/hal_init.c:330 [inline] rtl871x_hal_init+0xae/0x180 drivers/staging/rtl8712/hal_init.c:394 netdev_open+0xe6/0x6c0 drivers/staging/rtl8712/os_intfs.c:380 __dev_open+0x2bc/0x4d0 net/core/dev.c:1484 Freed by task 1306: ... release_firmware+0x1b/0x30 drivers/base/firmware_loader/main.c:1053 r871xu_dev_remove+0xcc/0x2c0 drivers/staging/rtl8712/usb_intf.c:599 usb_unbind_interface+0x1d8/0x8d0 drivers/usb/core/driver.c:458

Business impact

Successful exploitation of CVE-2021-47479, a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.0) affecting linux kernel, may affect the confidentiality, integrity or availability of the vulnerable environment. The exact impact depends on the installed version, exposed interfaces and deployment configuration.

Recommended administrator action

Confirm whether linux kernel is present and compare installed versions with the vendor advisory and NVD record. Apply the vendor patch or documented mitigation; until remediation is complete, reduce exposure of affected interfaces, review relevant logs and monitor for indicators of exploitation. DataHouse can support version verification, managed patching, network exposure reduction, log review and backup validation for dedicated, cloud and colocated environments.

Sources

• NVD
• Reference
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