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CVE-2021-47515: linux kernel vulnerability
CVE-2021-47515: high vulnerability affecting linux kernel. Check CVSS, KEV status, business impact and recommended administrator actions.
- CVSS
- 7.5 HIGH
- EPSS
- 52.07%
- Known exploited
- not in KEV
- Product
- linux kernel
What is known
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: seg6: fix the iif in the IPv6 socket control block When an IPv4 packet is received, the ip_rcv_core(...) sets the receiving interface index into the IPv4 socket control block (v5.16-rc4, net/ipv4/ip_input.c line 510): IPCB(skb)->iif = skb->skb_iif; If that IPv4 packet is meant to be encapsulated in an outer IPv6+SRH header, the seg6_do_srh_encap(...) performs the required encapsulation. In this case, the seg6_do_srh_encap function clears the IPv6 socket control block (v5.16-rc4 net/ipv6/seg6_iptunnel.c line 163): memset(IP6CB(skb), 0, sizeof(*IP6CB(skb))); The memset(...) was introduced in commit ef489749aae5 ("ipv6: sr: clear IP6CB(skb) on SRH ip4ip6 encapsulation") a long time ago (2019-01-29). Since the IPv6 socket control block and the IPv4 socket control block share the same memory area (skb->cb), the receiving interface index info is lost (IP6CB(skb)->iif is set to zero). As a side effect, that condition triggers a NULL pointer dereference if commit 0857d6f8c759 ("ipv6: When forwarding count rx stats on the orig netdev") is applied. To fix that issue, we set the IP6CB(skb)->iif with the index of the receiving interface once again.
Business impact
Successful exploitation of CVE-2021-47515, a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.5) 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.