CVE-2021-47546
5.5 · MEDIUMOverview
CVE-2021-47546 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting linux linux_kernel. It was published on May 24, 2024 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5, rated MEDIUM. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.
Technical Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
ipv6: fix memory leak in fib6_rule_suppress
The kernel leaks memory when a `fib` rule is present in IPv6 nftables
firewall rules and a suppress_prefix rule is present in the IPv6 routing
rules (used by certain tools such as wg-quick). In such scenarios, every
incoming packet will leak an allocation in `ip6_dst_cache` slab cache.
After some hours of `bpftrace`-ing and source code reading, I tracked
down the issue to ca7a03c41753 ("ipv6: do not free rt if
FIB_LOOKUP_NOREF is set on suppress rule").
The problem with that change is that the generic `args->flags` always have
`FIB_LOOKUP_NOREF` set[1][2] but the IPv6-specific flag
`RT6_LOOKUP_F_DST_NOREF` might not be, leading to `fib6_rule_suppress` not
decreasing the refcount when needed.
How to reproduce:
- Add the following nftables rule to a prerouting chain:
meta nfproto ipv6 fib saddr . mark . iif oif missing drop
This can be done with:
sudo nft cre
Remediation
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from linux. Update linux_kernel to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
Affected Products
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| linux | linux_kernel | >= 5.4, < 5.4.164 | Affected |
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2021-47546?
CVE-2021-47546 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting linux linux_kernel. It was published on May 24, 2024 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).
How severe is CVE-2021-47546?
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5, rated MEDIUM. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.
How do I fix or remediate CVE-2021-47546?
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from linux. Update linux_kernel to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2021-47546?
CyberStrike's AI-powered security agents can automatically detect CVE-2021-47546 across your infrastructure using autonomous pentesting, DAST scanning, and HackBrowser. The platform continuously monitors for known vulnerabilities and provides actionable remediation guidance prioritized by real-world exploitability.
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