xdp, net: Fix use-after-free in bpf_xdp_link_release
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · 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: xdp, net: Fix use-after-free in bpf_xdp_link_release The problem occurs between dev_get_by_index() and dev_xdp_attach_link(). At this point, dev_xdp_uninstall() is called. Then xdp link will not be detached automatically when dev is released. But link->dev already points to dev, when xdp link is released, dev will still be accessed, but dev has been released. dev_get_by_index() | link->dev = dev | | rtnl_lock() | unregister_netdevice_many() | dev_xdp_uninstall() | rtnl_unlock() rtnl_lock(); | dev_xdp_attach_link() | rtnl_unlock(); | | netdev_run_todo() // dev released bpf_xdp_link_release() | /* access dev. | use-after-free */ | [ 45.966867] BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in bpf_xdp_link_release+0x3b8/0x3d0 [ 45.967619] Read of size 8 at addr ffff00000f9980c8 by task a.out/732 [ 45.968297] [ 45.968502] CPU: 1 PID: 732 Comm: a.out Not tainted 5.13.0+ #22 [ 45.969222] Hardware name: linux,dummy-virt (DT) [ 45.969795] Call trace: [ 45.970106] dump_backtrace+0x0/0x4c8 [ 45.970564] show_stack+0x30/0x40 [ 45.970981] dump_stack_lvl+0x120/0x18c [ 45.971470] print_address_description.constprop.0+0x74/0x30c [ 45.972182] kasan_report+0x1e8/0x200 [ 45.972659] __asan_report_load8_noabort+0x2c/0x50 [ 45.973273] bpf_xdp_link_release+0x3b8/0x3d0 [ 45.973834] bpf_link_free+0xd0/0x188 [ 45.974315] bpf_link_put+0x1d0/0x218 [ 45.974790] bpf_link_release+0x3c/0x58 [ 45.975291] __fput+0x20c/0x7e8 [ 45.975706] ____fput+0x24/0x30 [ 45.976117] task_work_run+0x104/0x258 [ 45.976609] do_notify_resume+0x894/0xaf8 [ 45.977121] work_pending+0xc/0x328 [ 45.977575] [ 45.977775] The buggy address belongs to the page: [ 45.978369] page:fffffc00003e6600 refcount:0 mapcount:0 mapping:0000000000000000 index:0x0 pfn:0x4f998 [ 45.979522] flags: 0x7fffe0000000000(node=0|zone=0|lastcpupid=0x3ffff) [ 45.980349] raw: 07fffe0000000000 fffffc00003e6708 ffff0000dac3c010 0000000000000000 [ 45.981309] raw: 0000000000000000 0000000000000000 00000000ffffffff 0000000000000000 [ 45.982259] page dumped because: kasan: bad access detected [ 45.982948] [ 45.983153] Memory state around the buggy address: [ 45.983753] ffff00000f997f80: fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc [ 45.984645] ffff00000f998000: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff [ 45.985533] >ffff00000f998080: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff [ 45.986419] ^ [ 45.987112] ffff00000f998100: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff [ 45.988006] ffff00000f998180: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff [ 45.988895] ================================================================== [ 45.989773] Disabling lock debugging due to kernel taint [ 45.990552] Kernel panic - not syncing: panic_on_warn set ... [ 45.991166] CPU: 1 PID: 732 Comm: a.out Tainted: G B 5.13.0+ #22 [ 45.991929] Hardware name: linux,dummy-virt (DT) [ 45.992448] Call trace: [ 45.992753] dump_backtrace+0x0/0x4c8 [ 45.993208] show_stack+0x30/0x40 [ 45.993627] dump_stack_lvl+0x120/0x18c [ 45.994113] dump_stack+0x1c/0x34 [ 45.994530] panic+0x3a4/0x7d8 [ 45.994930] end_report+0x194/0x198 [ 45.995380] kasan_report+0x134/0x200 [ 45.995850] __asan_report_load8_noabort+0x2c/0x50 [ 45.996453] bpf_xdp_link_release+0x3b8/0x3d0 [ 45.997007] bpf_link_free+0xd0/0x188 [ 45.997474] bpf_link_put+0x1d0/0x218 [ 45.997942] bpf_link_release+0x3c/0x58 [ 45.998429] __fput+0x20c/0x7e8 [ 45.998833] ____fput+0x24/0x30 [ 45.999247] task_work_run+0x104/0x258 [ 45.999731] do_notify_resume+0x894/0xaf8 [ 46.000236] work_pending ---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 | 5.9 and later | 5.10.54, 5.13.6, 5.14 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.9 and later Fixed in 5.10.54, 5.13.6, 5.14 Patch available CNA
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.54, 5.13.6, 5.14
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. 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 |
Not affected: 2 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2021-47299
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-8fm5-v3c4-vrmq
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-2021-47299 · CVE Program
- CVE-2021-47299 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-8fm5-v3c4-vrmq · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2021-47299 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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