CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2021-47318 — Linux Linux Kernel security vulnerability

High CVSS 7.8

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: arch_topology: Avoid use-after-free for scale_freq_data Currently topology_scale_freq_tick() (which gets called from scheduler_tick()) may end up using a pointer to "struct scale_freq_data", which was previously cleared by topology_clear_scale_freq_source(), as there is no protection in place here. The users of topology_clear_scale_freq_source() though needs a guarantee that the previously cleared scale_freq_data isn't used anymore, so they can free the related resources. Since topology_scale_freq_tick() is called from scheduler tick, we don't want to add locking in there. Use the RCU update mechanism instead (which is already used by the scheduler's utilization update path) to guarantee race free updates here. synchronize_rcu() makes sure that all RCU critical sections that started before it is called, will finish before it returns. And so the callers of topology_clear_scale_freq_source() don't need to worry about their callback getting called anymore.

Severity
High
CVSS
7.8 (3.1)
Published
2024-05-21
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
linux/kernel
Weaknesses
CWE-416

Affected products

  • linux / linux_kernel

Matched remediation archetype

Use-after-free, double free, and expired resource use

This catalog composition supplies bounded fallback guidance. Explicitly reviewed curated workflows load with the complete record below.

Check exposure

  • Trace ownership, references, callbacks, asynchronous tasks, and teardown paths around the affected object or resource.
  • Identify reachable inputs and timing or state transitions that can release the object while references remain.
  • Confirm affected builds, allocators, feature flags, architectures, and process privileges.

Remediate safely

  • Apply the maintained ownership or lifetime fix and rebuild all artifacts containing the affected native code.
  • Use explicit ownership, safe reference management, cancellation and join semantics, and idempotent teardown.
  • Add deterministic lifetime tests plus isolated sanitizer and concurrency coverage for shutdown and error paths.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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