pid: take a reference when initializing `cad_pid`
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: 4 fixed, 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: pid: take a reference when initializing `cad_pid` During boot, kernel_init_freeable() initializes `cad_pid` to the init task's struct pid. Later on, we may change `cad_pid` via a sysctl, and when this happens proc_do_cad_pid() will increment the refcount on the new pid via get_pid(), and will decrement the refcount on the old pid via put_pid(). As we never called get_pid() when we initialized `cad_pid`, we decrement a reference we never incremented, can therefore free the init task's struct pid early. As there can be dangling references to the struct pid, we can later encounter a use-after-free (e.g. when delivering signals). This was spotted when fuzzing v5.13-rc3 with Syzkaller, but seems to have been around since the conversion of `cad_pid` to struct pid in commit 9ec52099e4b8 ("[PATCH] replace cad_pid by a struct pid") from the pre-KASAN stone age of v2.6.19. Fix this by getting a reference to the init task's struct pid when we assign it to `cad_pid`. Full KASAN splat below. ================================================================== BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in ns_of_pid include/linux/pid.h:153 [inline] BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in task_active_pid_ns+0xc0/0xc8 kernel/pid.c:509 Read of size 4 at addr ffff23794dda0004 by task syz-executor.0/273 CPU: 1 PID: 273 Comm: syz-executor.0 Not tainted 5.12.0-00001-g9aef892b2d15 #1 Hardware name: linux,dummy-virt (DT) Call trace: ns_of_pid include/linux/pid.h:153 [inline] task_active_pid_ns+0xc0/0xc8 kernel/pid.c:509 do_notify_parent+0x308/0xe60 kernel/signal.c:1950 exit_notify kernel/exit.c:682 [inline] do_exit+0x2334/0x2bd0 kernel/exit.c:845 do_group_exit+0x108/0x2c8 kernel/exit.c:922 get_signal+0x4e4/0x2a88 kernel/signal.c:2781 do_signal arch/arm64/kernel/signal.c:882 [inline] do_notify_resume+0x300/0x970 arch/arm64/kernel/signal.c:936 work_pending+0xc/0x2dc Allocated by task 0: slab_post_alloc_hook+0x50/0x5c0 mm/slab.h:516 slab_alloc_node mm/slub.c:2907 [inline] slab_alloc mm/slub.c:2915 [inline] kmem_cache_alloc+0x1f4/0x4c0 mm/slub.c:2920 alloc_pid+0xdc/0xc00 kernel/pid.c:180 copy_process+0x2794/0x5e18 kernel/fork.c:2129 kernel_clone+0x194/0x13c8 kernel/fork.c:2500 kernel_thread+0xd4/0x110 kernel/fork.c:2552 rest_init+0x44/0x4a0 init/main.c:687 arch_call_rest_init+0x1c/0x28 start_kernel+0x520/0x554 init/main.c:1064 0x0 Freed by task 270: slab_free_hook mm/slub.c:1562 [inline] slab_free_freelist_hook+0x98/0x260 mm/slub.c:1600 slab_free mm/slub.c:3161 [inline] kmem_cache_free+0x224/0x8e0 mm/slub.c:3177 put_pid.part.4+0xe0/0x1a8 kernel/pid.c:114 put_pid+0x30/0x48 kernel/pid.c:109 proc_do_cad_pid+0x190/0x1b0 kernel/sysctl.c:1401 proc_sys_call_handler+0x338/0x4b0 fs/proc/proc_sysctl.c:591 proc_sys_write+0x34/0x48 fs/proc/proc_sysctl.c:617 call_write_iter include/linux/fs.h:1977 [inline] new_sync_write+0x3ac/0x510 fs/read_write.c:518 vfs_write fs/read_write.c:605 [inline] vfs_write+0x9c4/0x1018 fs/read_write.c:585 ksys_write+0x124/0x240 fs/read_write.c:658 __do_sys_write fs/read_write.c:670 [inline] __se_sys_write fs/read_write.c:667 [inline] __arm64_sys_write+0x78/0xb0 fs/read_write.c:667 __invoke_syscall arch/arm64/kernel/syscall.c:37 [inline] invoke_syscall arch/arm64/kernel/syscall.c:49 [inline] el0_svc_common.constprop.1+0x16c/0x388 arch/arm64/kernel/syscall.c:129 do_el0_svc+0xf8/0x150 arch/arm64/kernel/syscall.c:168 el0_svc+0x28/0x38 arch/arm64/kernel/entry-common.c:416 el0_sync_handler+0x134/0x180 arch/arm64/kernel/entry-common.c:432 el0_sync+0x154/0x180 arch/arm64/kernel/entry.S:701 The buggy address belongs to the object at ffff23794dda0000 which belongs to the cache pid of size 224 The buggy address is located 4 bytes inside of 224-byte region [ff ---truncated---
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 | 2.6.19 and later | 4.4.272, 4.9.272, 4.14.236, 4.19.194, 5.4.125, 5.10.43, 5.12.10, 5.13 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 2.6.19 and later Fixed in 4.4.272, 4.9.272, 4.14.236, 4.19.194, 5.4.125, 5.10.43, 5.12.10, 5.13 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 5
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 2.6.19 to before 4.4.272; 4.5 to before 4.9.272; 4.10 to before 4.14.236; 4.15 to before 4.19.194; 4.20 to before 5.4.125; 5.5 to before 5.10.43; 5.11 to before 5.12.10 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.13:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.13 rc1 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.13:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.13 rc2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.13:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.13 rc3 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.13:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.13 rc4 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 2.6.19 to before 4.4.272; 4.5 to before 4.9.272; 4.10 to before 4.14.236; 4.15 to before 4.19.194; 4.20 to before 5.4.125; 5.5 to before 5.10.43; 5.11 to before 5.12.10 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.13:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.13 rc1 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.13:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.13 rc2 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.13:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.13 rc3 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.13:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.13 rc4 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 4.4.272, 4.9.272, 4.14.236, 4.19.194, 5.4.125, 5.10.43, 5.12.10, 5.13
Red Hat 2 advisories
- RHSA-2024:3627 Released 2024-06-05 · Red Hat rating Moderatekernel-rt security and bug fix update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux NFV (v. 8) kernel-rt-4.18.0-553.5.1.rt7.346.el8_10, kernel-rt-core-4.18.0-553.5.1.rt7.346.el8_10, kernel-rt-debug-4.18.0-553.5.1.rt7.346.el8_10 +9
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux RT (v. 8) kernel-rt-4.18.0-553.5.1.rt7.346.el8_10, kernel-rt-core-4.18.0-553.5.1.rt7.346.el8_10, kernel-rt-debug-4.18.0-553.5.1.rt7.346.el8_10 +7
- RHSA-2024:3618 Released 2024-06-05 · Red Hat rating Moderatekernel update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) bpftool-4.18.0-553.5.1.el8_10, kernel-4.18.0-553.5.1.el8_10, kernel-abi-stablelists-4.18.0-553.5.1.el8_10 +19
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux CRB (v. 8) kernel-tools-libs-devel-4.18.0-553.5.1.el8_10
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 BaseOS (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2024:3618 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux CRB (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2024:3618 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux NFV (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2024:3627 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux RT (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2024:3627 |
Not affected: 1 product
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2021-47118
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-f22j-p6f5-7h8x
References
Patch 8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/764c2e892d1fe895392aff62fb353fdce43bb529
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f86c80515a8a3703e0ca2e56deb50fc2879c5ea4
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4dbd8808a591b49b717862e6e0081bcf14a87788
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d106f05432e60f9f62d456ef017687f5c73cb414
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2cd6eedfa6344f5ef5c3dac3aee57a39b5b46dff
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7178be006d495ffb741c329012da289b62dddfe6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b8ff869f20152fbe66b6c2e2715d26a2f9897cca
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0711f0d7050b9e07c44bc159bbc64ac0a1022c7f
More Linux Kernel vulnerabilities
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- 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
Sources
- CVE-2021-47118 · CVE Program
- CVE-2021-47118 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-f22j-p6f5-7h8x · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2021-47118 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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