CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2021-47572 — Linux Linux Kernel security vulnerability

Medium CVSS 5.5

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: nexthop: fix null pointer dereference when IPv6 is not enabled When we try to add an IPv6 nexthop and IPv6 is not enabled (!CONFIG_IPV6) we'll hit a NULL pointer dereference[1] in the error path of nh_create_ipv6() due to calling ipv6_stub->fib6_nh_release. The bug has been present since the beginning of IPv6 nexthop gateway support. Commit 1aefd3de7bc6 ("ipv6: Add fib6_nh_init and release to stubs") tells us that only fib6_nh_init has a dummy stub because fib6_nh_release should not be called if fib6_nh_init returns an error, but the commit below added a call to ipv6_stub->fib6_nh_release in its error path. To fix it return the dummy stub's -EAFNOSUPPORT error directly without calling ipv6_stub->fib6_nh_release in nh_create_ipv6()'s error path. [1] Output is a bit truncated, but it clearly shows the error. BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 000000000000000000 #PF: supervisor instruction fetch in kernel modede #PF: error_code(0x0010) - not-present pagege PGD 0 P4D 0 Oops: 0010 [#1] PREEMPT SMP NOPTI CPU: 4 PID: 638 Comm: ip Kdump: loaded Not tainted 5.16.0-rc1+ #446 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC…

Severity
Medium
CVSS
5.5 (3.1)
Published
2024-05-24
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
linux/kernel
Weaknesses
CWE-476

Affected products

  • linux / linux_kernel

Showing 1 representative product identities from 3 source matches. Confirm exact affected versions with the linked vendor and NVD evidence.

Matched remediation archetype

Buffer bounds, memory safety, and memory corruption

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Check exposure

  • Identify affected native-code versions, build flags, architectures, parsers, codecs, drivers, and input paths in all shipped artifacts.
  • Determine whether untrusted data reaches the affected routine and the process privilege, sandbox, and network exposure.
  • Confirm statically linked, vendored, firmware, and platform-provided copies, not only package-manager records.

Remediate safely

  • Apply the maintained upstream correction or replace the affected component, then rebuild every dependent artifact from clean inputs.
  • Adopt bounds-checked interfaces, validated sizes and integer conversions, clear ownership, and memory-safe components where practical.
  • Enable supported compiler and runtime hardening and add sanitized tests and fuzz regression seeds derived from non-weaponized fixtures.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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