mm/slub: actually fix freelist pointer vs redzoning
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 2 fixed, 2 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/slub: actually fix freelist pointer vs redzoning It turns out that SLUB redzoning ("slub_debug=Z") checks from s->object_size rather than from s->inuse (which is normally bumped to make room for the freelist pointer), so a cache created with an object size less than 24 would have the freelist pointer written beyond s->object_size, causing the redzone to be corrupted by the freelist pointer. This was very visible with "slub_debug=ZF": BUG test (Tainted: G B ): Right Redzone overwritten ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- INFO: 0xffff957ead1c05de-0xffff957ead1c05df @offset=1502. First byte 0x1a instead of 0xbb INFO: Slab 0xffffef3950b47000 objects=170 used=170 fp=0x0000000000000000 flags=0x8000000000000200 INFO: Object 0xffff957ead1c05d8 @offset=1496 fp=0xffff957ead1c0620 Redzone (____ptrval____): bb bb bb bb bb bb bb bb ........ Object (____ptrval____): 00 00 00 00 00 f6 f4 a5 ........ Redzone (____ptrval____): 40 1d e8 1a aa @.... Padding (____ptrval____): 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ........ Adjust the offset to stay within s->object_size. (Note that no caches of in this size range are known to exist in the kernel currently.)
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 | 5.7 and later | 5.10.46, 5.12.13, 5.13 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.7 and later Fixed in 5.10.46, 5.12.13, 5.13 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 7
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.7 to before 5.10.46; 5.11 to before 5.12.13 | 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:5.13:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.13 rc5 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.13:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.13 rc6 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.7 to before 5.10.46; 5.11 to before 5.12.13 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
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.13:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.13 rc5 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.13:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.13 rc6 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.46, 5.12.13, 5.13
Red Hat 1 advisory
- RHSA-2023:2951 Released 2023-05-16 · Red Hat rating Importantkernel security, bug fix, and enhancement update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) bpftool-4.18.0-477.10.1.el8_8, kernel-4.18.0-477.10.1.el8_8, kernel-abi-stablelists-4.18.0-477.10.1.el8_8 +19
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux CRB (v. 8) kernel-tools-libs-devel-4.18.0-477.10.1.el8_8
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:2951 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux CRB (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:2951 |
Not affected: 2 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2021-47221
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-3c4w-p6cr-wgq6
- 2026-11-05 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
More Linux Kernel vulnerabilities
- 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
Sources
- CVE-2021-47221 · CVE Program
- CVE-2021-47221 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-3c4w-p6cr-wgq6 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2021-47221 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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