locking/qrwlock: Fix ordering in queued_write_lock_slowpath()
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 3 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: locking/qrwlock: Fix ordering in queued_write_lock_slowpath() While this code is executed with the wait_lock held, a reader can acquire the lock without holding wait_lock. The writer side loops checking the value with the atomic_cond_read_acquire(), but only truly acquires the lock when the compare-and-exchange is completed successfully which isn’t ordered. This exposes the window between the acquire and the cmpxchg to an A-B-A problem which allows reads following the lock acquisition to observe values speculatively before the write lock is truly acquired. We've seen a problem in epoll where the reader does a xchg while holding the read lock, but the writer can see a value change out from under it. Writer | Reader -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ep_scan_ready_list() | |- write_lock_irq() | |- queued_write_lock_slowpath() | |- atomic_cond_read_acquire() | | read_lock_irqsave(&ep->lock, flags); --> (observes value before unlock) | chain_epi_lockless() | | epi->next = xchg(&ep->ovflist, epi); | | read_unlock_irqrestore(&ep->lock, flags); | | | atomic_cmpxchg_relaxed() | |-- READ_ONCE(ep->ovflist); | A core can order the read of the ovflist ahead of the atomic_cmpxchg_relaxed(). Switching the cmpxchg to use acquire semantics addresses this issue at which point the atomic_cond_read can be switched to use relaxed semantics. [peterz: use try_cmpxchg()]
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 4.15 and later | 4.19.189, 5.4.115, 5.10.33, 5.11.17, 5.12 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 4.15 and later Fixed in 4.19.189, 5.4.115, 5.10.33, 5.11.17, 5.12 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 4.15.0 to before 4.19.189; 4.20.0 to before 5.4.115; 5.5.0 to before 5.10.33; 5.11.0 to before 5.11.17 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 4.15.0 to before 4.19.189; 4.20.0 to before 5.4.115; 5.5.0 to before 5.10.33; 5.11.0 to before 5.11.17 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 4.19.189, 5.4.115, 5.10.33, 5.11.17, 5.12
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Low. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet |
Not affected: 1 product
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2021-46921
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-8j25-5vwv-hm2f
References
Patch 5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5902f9453a313be8fe78cbd7e7ca9dba9319fc6e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/82808cc026811fbc3ecf0c0b267a12a339eead56
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/82fa9ced35d88581cffa4a1c856fc41fca96d80a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d558fcdb17139728347bccc60a16af3e639649d2
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/84a24bf8c52e66b7ac89ada5e3cfbe72d65c1896
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- TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
Sources
- CVE-2021-46921 · CVE Program
- CVE-2021-46921 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-8j25-5vwv-hm2f · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2021-46921 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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