CVE-2021-47078: Vulnerability in Linux Linux

Severity: mediumType: vulnerabilityCVE-2021-47078

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: RDMA/rxe: Clear all QP fields if creation failed rxe_qp_do_cleanup() relies on valid pointer values in QP for the properly created ones, but in case rxe_qp_from_init() failed it was filled with garbage and caused tot the following error. refcount_t: underflow; use-after-free. WARNING: CPU: 1 PID: 12560 at lib/refcount.c:28 refcount_warn_saturate+0x1d1/0x1e0 lib/refcount.c:28 Modules linked in: CPU: 1 PID: 12560 Comm: syz-executor.4 Not tainted 5.12.0-syzkaller #0 Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 01/01/2011 RIP: 0010:refcount_warn_saturate+0x1d1/0x1e0 lib/refcount.c:28 Code: e9 db fe ff ff 48 89 df e8 2c c2 ea fd e9 8a fe ff ff e8 72 6a a7 fd 48 c7 c7 e0 b2 c1 89 c6 05 dc 3a e6 09 01 e8 ee 74 fb 04 <0f> 0b e9 af fe ff ff 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 41 56 41 55 41 54 55 RSP: 0018:ffffc900097ceba8 EFLAGS: 00010286 RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: 0000000000000000 RCX: 0000000000000000 RDX: 0000000000040000 RSI: ffffffff815bb075 RDI: fffff520012f9d67 RBP: 0000000000000003 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000000 R10: ffffffff815b4eae R11: 0000000000000000 R12: ffff8880322a4800 R13: ffff8880322a4940 R14: ffff888033044e00 R15: 0000000000000000 FS: 00007f6eb2be3700(0000) GS:ffff8880b9d00000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 00007fdbe5d41000 CR3: 000000001d181000 CR4: 00000000001506e0 DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 Call Trace: __refcount_sub_and_test include/linux/refcount.h:283 [inline] __refcount_dec_and_test include/linux/refcount.h:315 [inline] refcount_dec_and_test include/linux/refcount.h:333 [inline] kref_put include/linux/kref.h:64 [inline] rxe_qp_do_cleanup+0x96f/0xaf0 drivers/infiniband/sw/rxe/rxe_qp.c:805 execute_in_process_context+0x37/0x150 kernel/workqueue.c:3327 rxe_elem_release+0x9f/0x180 drivers/infiniband/sw/rxe/rxe_pool.c:391 kref_put include/linux/kref.h:65 [inline] rxe_create_qp+0x2cd/0x310 drivers/infiniband/sw/rxe/rxe_verbs.c:425 _ib_create_qp drivers/infiniband/core/core_priv.h:331 [inline] ib_create_named_qp+0x2ad/0x1370 drivers/infiniband/core/verbs.c:1231 ib_create_qp include/rdma/ib_verbs.h:3644 [inline] create_mad_qp+0x177/0x2d0 drivers/infiniband/core/mad.c:2920 ib_mad_port_open drivers/infiniband/core/mad.c:3001 [inline] ib_mad_init_device+0xd6f/0x1400 drivers/infiniband/core/mad.c:3092 add_client_context+0x405/0x5e0 drivers/infiniband/core/device.c:717 enable_device_and_get+0x1cd/0x3b0 drivers/infiniband/core/device.c:1331 ib_register_device drivers/infiniband/core/device.c:1413 [inline] ib_register_device+0x7c7/0xa50 drivers/infiniband/core/device.c:1365 rxe_register_device+0x3d5/0x4a0 drivers/infiniband/sw/rxe/rxe_verbs.c:1147 rxe_add+0x12fe/0x16d0 drivers/infiniband/sw/rxe/rxe.c:247 rxe_net_add+0x8c/0xe0 drivers/infiniband/sw/rxe/rxe_net.c:503 rxe_newlink drivers/infiniband/sw/rxe/rxe.c:269 [inline] rxe_newlink+0xb7/0xe0 drivers/infiniband/sw/rxe/rxe.c:250 nldev_newlink+0x30e/0x550 drivers/infiniband/core/nldev.c:1555 rdma_nl_rcv_msg+0x36d/0x690 drivers/infiniband/core/netlink.c:195 rdma_nl_rcv_skb drivers/infiniband/core/netlink.c:239 [inline] rdma_nl_rcv+0x2ee/0x430 drivers/infiniband/core/netlink.c:259 netlink_unicast_kernel net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1312 [inline] netlink_unicast+0x533/0x7d0 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1338 netlink_sendmsg+0x856/0xd90 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1927 sock_sendmsg_nosec net/socket.c:654 [inline] sock_sendmsg+0xcf/0x120 net/socket.c:674 ____sys_sendmsg+0x6e8/0x810 net/socket.c:2350 ___sys_sendmsg+0xf3/0x170 net/socket.c:2404 __sys_sendmsg+0xe5/0x1b0 net/socket.c:2433 do_syscall_64+0x3a/0xb0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:47 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0 ---truncated---

AI Analysis

Technical Summary

CVE-2021-47078 is a medium-severity vulnerability in the Linux kernel specifically affecting the RDMA (Remote Direct Memory Access) subsystem's rxe driver, which is a software implementation of the RDMA protocol. The vulnerability arises from improper cleanup of Queue Pair (QP) structures during their creation. When the function rxe_qp_from_init() fails to properly initialize a QP, the QP structure is left with uninitialized or garbage pointer values. Subsequently, the cleanup function rxe_qp_do_cleanup() operates on these invalid pointers, leading to a refcount underflow and use-after-free condition. This can cause kernel warnings, instability, or potentially lead to kernel memory corruption. The detailed kernel trace shows that the issue occurs in the reference counting mechanism (refcount_warn_saturate), which is critical for managing object lifetimes safely in the kernel. Exploitation requires local privileges with at least limited permissions (PR:L) and no user interaction is needed. The vulnerability impacts confidentiality, integrity, and availability to a limited extent, as it could be leveraged to cause denial of service or potentially escalate privileges by corrupting kernel memory. The affected component, rxe, is used primarily in environments leveraging RDMA over Converged Ethernet (RoCE) for high-performance networking, common in data centers and HPC clusters. The vulnerability was fixed by ensuring that all QP fields are cleared if creation fails, preventing the use of invalid pointers during cleanup.

Potential Impact

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2021-47078 depends largely on their use of RDMA technology within Linux environments. Organizations operating high-performance computing clusters, data centers, or storage networks that utilize RDMA over Ethernet could be vulnerable. Exploiting this flaw could lead to kernel crashes causing denial of service, impacting availability of critical services. In worst cases, it might allow local attackers to escalate privileges or execute arbitrary code in kernel context, threatening confidentiality and integrity of sensitive data. This is particularly concerning for sectors with high reliance on Linux-based infrastructure such as finance, telecommunications, research institutions, and cloud service providers in Europe. However, since exploitation requires local access and some privileges, remote exploitation is unlikely without prior compromise. The vulnerability does not appear to be exploited in the wild yet, reducing immediate risk but still necessitating timely patching to prevent future attacks.

Mitigation Recommendations

European organizations should prioritize patching Linux kernels to versions that include the fix for CVE-2021-47078. Specifically, ensure that kernel versions postdating the fix commit for the rxe driver are deployed. For environments where immediate patching is challenging, consider disabling the rxe driver if RDMA functionality is not required, to reduce attack surface. Implement strict access controls and monitoring on systems with RDMA capabilities to detect unusual local activity that might indicate exploitation attempts. Employ kernel hardening techniques such as Kernel Address Space Layout Randomization (KASLR), and enable security modules like SELinux or AppArmor to limit the impact of potential kernel exploits. Regularly audit and restrict user privileges to minimize the number of users who can trigger this vulnerability. Finally, maintain up-to-date intrusion detection systems capable of identifying kernel-level anomalies.