audit: improve robustness of the audit queue handling
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 3 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-667 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: audit: improve robustness of the audit queue handling If the audit daemon were ever to get stuck in a stopped state the kernel's kauditd_thread() could get blocked attempting to send audit records to the userspace audit daemon. With the kernel thread blocked it is possible that the audit queue could grow unbounded as certain audit record generating events must be exempt from the queue limits else the system enter a deadlock state. This patch resolves this problem by lowering the kernel thread's socket sending timeout from MAX_SCHEDULE_TIMEOUT to HZ/10 and tweaks the kauditd_send_queue() function to better manage the various audit queues when connection problems occur between the kernel and the audit daemon. With this patch, the backlog may temporarily grow beyond the defined limits when the audit daemon is stopped and the system is under heavy audit pressure, but kauditd_thread() will continue to make progress and drain the queues as it would for other connection problems. For example, with the audit daemon put into a stopped state and the system configured to audit every syscall it was still possible to shutdown the system without a kernel panic, deadlock, etc.; granted, the system was slow to shutdown but that is to be expected given the extreme pressure of recording every syscall. The timeout value of HZ/10 was chosen primarily through experimentation and this developer's "gut feeling". There is likely no one perfect value, but as this scenario is limited in scope (root privileges would be needed to send SIGSTOP to the audit daemon), it is likely not worth exposing this as a tunable at present. This can always be done at a later date if it proves necessary.
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 | 4.10.7 to before 4.11 | 4.11 | Patch available | CNA |
| Linux | Linux | 4.11 and later | 4.14.259, 4.19.222, 5.4.168, 5.10.88, 5.15.11, 5.16 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 4.10.7 to before 4.11 Fixed in 4.11 Patch available CNA
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 4.11 and later Fixed in 4.14.259, 4.19.222, 5.4.168, 5.10.88, 5.15.11, 5.16 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 6
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 4.10.7 to before 4.11; 4.11 to before 4.14.259; 4.15 to before 4.19.222; 4.20 to before 5.4.168; 5.5 to before 5.10.88; 5.11 to before 5.15.11 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.16:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.16 rc1 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.16:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.16 rc2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.16:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.16 rc3 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.16:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.16 rc4 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.16:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.16 rc5 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 4.10.7 to before 4.11; 4.11 to before 4.14.259; 4.15 to before 4.19.222; 4.20 to before 5.4.168; 5.5 to before 5.10.88; 5.11 to before 5.15.11 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.16:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.16 rc1 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.16:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.16 rc2 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.16:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.16 rc3 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.16:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.16 rc4 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.16:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.16 rc5 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 4.11
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 4.14.259, 4.19.222, 5.4.168, 5.10.88, 5.15.11, 5.16
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 8 | Affected | No fix yet |
Not affected: 1 product
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2021-47603
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-xfpp-3cjf-2x3v
References
Patch 6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/75fdb751f84727d614deea0571a1490c3225d83a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8389f50ceb854cb437fefb9330d5024ed3c7c1f5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0d3277eabd542fb662be23696e5ec9f390d688e1
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4cc6badff97f74d0fce65f9784b5df3b64e4250b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a5f4d17daf2e6cd7c1d9676b476147f6b4ac53f2
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f4b3ee3c85551d2d343a3ba159304066523f730f
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- TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
Sources
- CVE-2021-47603 · CVE Program
- CVE-2021-47603 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-xfpp-3cjf-2x3v · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2021-47603 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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