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TI-2021-21625 Aliases CVE-2021-46959GHSA-p64f-v3w3-f3gw

spi: Fix use-after-free with devm_spi_alloc_*

Priority LOW 34CWE-416Published · Updated

Key facts

Attack vector
Local
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
Low
Impact type
Code execution
Confidentiality · integrity · availability
High · High · High
Fix status
Partial Red Hat: 2 without a fix

Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-416 and the CVSS impact.

Summary

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: spi: Fix use-after-free with devm_spi_alloc_* We can't rely on the contents of the devres list during spi_unregister_controller(), as the list is already torn down at the time we perform devres_find() for devm_spi_release_controller. This causes devices registered with devm_spi_alloc_{master,slave}() to be mistakenly identified as legacy, non-devm managed devices and have their reference counters decremented below 0. ------------[ cut here ]------------ WARNING: CPU: 1 PID: 660 at lib/refcount.c:28 refcount_warn_saturate+0x108/0x174 [<b0396f04>] (refcount_warn_saturate) from [<b03c56a4>] (kobject_put+0x90/0x98) [<b03c5614>] (kobject_put) from [<b0447b4c>] (put_device+0x20/0x24) r4:b6700140 [<b0447b2c>] (put_device) from [<b07515e8>] (devm_spi_release_controller+0x3c/0x40) [<b07515ac>] (devm_spi_release_controller) from [<b045343c>] (release_nodes+0x84/0xc4) r5:b6700180 r4:b6700100 [<b04533b8>] (release_nodes) from [<b0454160>] (devres_release_all+0x5c/0x60) r8:b1638c54 r7:b117ad94 r6:b1638c10 r5:b117ad94 r4:b163dc10 [<b0454104>] (devres_release_all) from [<b044e41c>] (__device_release_driver+0x144/0x1ec) r5:b117ad94 r4:b163dc10 [<b044e2d8>] (__device_release_driver) from [<b044f70c>] (device_driver_detach+0x84/0xa0) r9:00000000 r8:00000000 r7:b117ad94 r6:b163dc54 r5:b1638c10 r4:b163dc10 [<b044f688>] (device_driver_detach) from [<b044d274>] (unbind_store+0xe4/0xf8) Instead, determine the devm allocation state as a flag on the controller which is guaranteed to be stable during cleanup.

Why it matters now

Exploitation None reported CISA SSVC · not in CISA KEV
EPSS 0.00245 15th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Partial Linux (Linux): 4.4.271, 4.9.271, 4.14.233 +7Red Hat: 2 without a fix

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

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed inStatusSource
LinuxLinux4.4.248 to before 4.4.271; 4.9.248 to before 4.9.271; 4.14.212 to before 4.14.233; 4.19.163 to before 4.19.191; 5.4.80 to before 5.4.119; 5.9.11 to before 5.104.4.271, 4.9.271, 4.14.233, 4.19.191, 5.4.119, 5.10Patch availableCNA
LinuxLinux5.10 and later4.4.271, 4.9.271, 4.14.233, 4.19.191, 5.4.119, 5.10.37, 5.11.21, 5.12.4, 5.13Patch availableCNA
  • Linux VendorLinux Affected 4.4.248 to before 4.4.271; 4.9.248 to before 4.9.271; 4.14.212 to before 4.14.233; 4.19.163 to before 4.19.191; 5.4.80 to before 5.4.119; 5.9.11 to before 5.10 Fixed in 4.4.271, 4.9.271, 4.14.233, 4.19.191, 5.4.119, 5.10 Patch available CNA
  • Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.10 and later Fixed in 4.4.271, 4.9.271, 4.14.233, 4.19.191, 5.4.119, 5.10.37, 5.11.21, 5.12.4, 5.13 Patch available CNA

CPE configurations NVD · 1

CPEVersionsRoleVendor
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*4.4.248 to before 4.4.271; 4.9.248 to before 4.9.271; 4.14.212 to before 4.14.233; 4.19.163 to before 4.19.191; 5.4.80 to before 5.4.119; 5.10 to before 5.10.37; 5.11 to before 5.11.21; 5.12 to before 5.12.4VulnerableLinux
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 4.4.248 to before 4.4.271; 4.9.248 to before 4.9.271; 4.14.212 to before 4.14.233; 4.19.163 to before 4.19.191; 5.4.80 to before 5.4.119; 5.10 to before 5.10.37; 5.11 to before 5.11.21; 5.12 to before 5.12.4 Vulnerable ·Linux

Remediation

  • Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 4.4.271, 4.9.271, 4.14.233, 4.19.191, 5.4.119, 5.10
  • Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 4.4.271, 4.9.271, 4.14.233, 4.19.191, 5.4.119, 5.10.37, 5.11.21, 5.12.4, 5.13

Vendor assessments

Red Hat

Red Hat rating: Low. Red Hat's page for this CVE →

ProductStatusPlan or fix
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6AffectedNo fix planned: Out of support scope
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7AffectedNo fix planned: Out of support scope
Not affected: 2 products
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9

Timeline

  1. 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2021-46959
  2. 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-p64f-v3w3-f3gw

References

  • TI-2025-26358 tls: fix handling of zero-length records on the rx_list KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
  • TI-2026-38352 netfilter: bridge: make ebt_snat ARP rewrite writable KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
  • TI-2013-05264 The (1) get_user and (2) put_user API functions in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 on the… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
  • TI-2022-00125 Integer overflow in kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
  • TI-2013-01864 The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
  • TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
See all 15278 →

Sources