netfilter: xt_IDLETIMER: fix panic that occurs when timer_type has garbage value
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: 1 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: netfilter: xt_IDLETIMER: fix panic that occurs when timer_type has garbage value Currently, when the rule related to IDLETIMER is added, idletimer_tg timer structure is initialized by kmalloc on executing idletimer_tg_create function. However, in this process timer->timer_type is not defined to a specific value. Thus, timer->timer_type has garbage value and it occurs kernel panic. So, this commit fixes the panic by initializing timer->timer_type using kzalloc instead of kmalloc. Test commands: # iptables -A OUTPUT -j IDLETIMER --timeout 1 --label test $ cat /sys/class/xt_idletimer/timers/test Killed Splat looks like: BUG: KASAN: user-memory-access in alarm_expires_remaining+0x49/0x70 Read of size 8 at addr 0000002e8c7bc4c8 by task cat/917 CPU: 12 PID: 917 Comm: cat Not tainted 5.14.0+ #3 79940a339f71eb14fc81aee1757a20d5bf13eb0e Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.13.0-1ubuntu1.1 04/01/2014 Call Trace: dump_stack_lvl+0x6e/0x9c kasan_report.cold+0x112/0x117 ? alarm_expires_remaining+0x49/0x70 __asan_load8+0x86/0xb0 alarm_expires_remaining+0x49/0x70 idletimer_tg_show+0xe5/0x19b [xt_IDLETIMER 11219304af9316a21bee5ba9d58f76a6b9bccc6d] dev_attr_show+0x3c/0x60 sysfs_kf_seq_show+0x11d/0x1f0 ? device_remove_bin_file+0x20/0x20 kernfs_seq_show+0xa4/0xb0 seq_read_iter+0x29c/0x750 kernfs_fop_read_iter+0x25a/0x2c0 ? __fsnotify_parent+0x3d1/0x570 ? iov_iter_init+0x70/0x90 new_sync_read+0x2a7/0x3d0 ? __x64_sys_llseek+0x230/0x230 ? rw_verify_area+0x81/0x150 vfs_read+0x17b/0x240 ksys_read+0xd9/0x180 ? vfs_write+0x460/0x460 ? do_syscall_64+0x16/0xc0 ? lockdep_hardirqs_on+0x79/0x120 __x64_sys_read+0x43/0x50 do_syscall_64+0x3b/0xc0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xae RIP: 0033:0x7f0cdc819142 Code: c0 e9 c2 fe ff ff 50 48 8d 3d 3a ca 0a 00 e8 f5 19 02 00 0f 1f 44 00 00 f3 0f 1e fa 64 8b 04 25 18 00 00 00 85 c0 75 10 0f 05 <48> 3d 00 f0 ff ff 77 56 c3 0f 1f 44 00 00 48 83 ec 28 48 89 54 24 RSP: 002b:00007fff28eee5b8 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: 0000000000000000 RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 0000000000020000 RCX: 00007f0cdc819142 RDX: 0000000000020000 RSI: 00007f0cdc032000 RDI: 0000000000000003 RBP: 00007f0cdc032000 R08: 00007f0cdc031010 R09: 0000000000000000 R10: 0000000000000022 R11: 0000000000000246 R12: 00005607e9ee31f0 R13: 0000000000000003 R14: 0000000000020000 R15: 0000000000020000
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 | 5.10.76, 5.14.15, 5.15 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.7 and later Fixed in 5.10.76, 5.14.15, 5.15 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 7
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.7 to before 5.10.76; 5.11 to before 5.14.15 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.15:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.15 rc1 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.15:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.15 rc2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.15:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.15 rc3 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.15:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.15 rc4 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.15:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.15 rc5 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.15:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.15 rc6 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.7 to before 5.10.76; 5.11 to before 5.14.15 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.15:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.15 rc1 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.15:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.15 rc2 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.15:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.15 rc3 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.15:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.15 rc4 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.15:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.15 rc5 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.15:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.15 rc6 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.76, 5.14.15, 5.15
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 |
Not affected: 3 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2021-47451
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-q6h5-3vm3-9h46
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-2021-47451 · CVE Program
- CVE-2021-47451 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-q6h5-3vm3-9h46 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2021-47451 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences