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Linux Kernel CVE-2021-47639

HIGH
Use After Free (CWE-416)
2025-02-26 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
High
Disputed · 7.8 NVD
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Severity by source

Sources disagree (Low–High)
NVD PRIMARY
7.8 HIGH
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
SUSE
HIGH
qualitative
Red Hat
5.5 LOW
qualitative

vuln.today treats the vendor’s rating as authoritative. A higher third-party CVSS (e.g. CISA-ADP) is shown for transparency but does not drive the headline severity.

CVSS VectorNVD

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Lifecycle Timeline

3
Analysis Generated
Mar 28, 2026 - 18:28 vuln.today
Patch released
Mar 28, 2026 - 18:28 nvd
Patch available
CVE Published
Feb 26, 2025 - 06:37 nvd
HIGH 7.8

DescriptionCVE.org

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

KVM: x86/mmu: Zap _all_ roots when unmapping gfn range in TDP MMU

Zap both valid and invalid roots when zapping/unmapping a gfn range, as KVM must ensure it holds no references to the freed page after returning from the unmap operation. Most notably, the TDP MMU doesn't zap invalid roots in mmu_notifier callbacks. This leads to use-after-free and other issues if the mmu_notifier runs to completion while an invalid root zapper yields as KVM fails to honor the requirement that there must be _no_ references to the page after the mmu_notifier returns.

The bug is most easily reproduced by hacking KVM to cause a collision between set_nx_huge_pages() and kvm_mmu_notifier_release(), but the bug exists between kvm_mmu_notifier_invalidate_range_start() and memslot updates as well. Invalidating a root ensures pages aren't accessible by the guest, and KVM won't read or write page data itself, but KVM will trigger e.g. kvm_set_pfn_dirty() when zapping SPTEs, and thus completing a zap of an invalid root _after_ the mmu_notifier returns is fatal.

WARNING: CPU: 24 PID: 1496 at arch/x86/kvm/../../../virt/kvm/kvm_main.c:173 [kvm] RIP: 0010:kvm_is_zone_device_pfn+0x96/0xa0 [kvm] Call Trace: <TASK> kvm_set_pfn_dirty+0xa8/0xe0 [kvm] __handle_changed_spte+0x2ab/0x5e0 [kvm] __handle_changed_spte+0x2ab/0x5e0 [kvm] __handle_changed_spte+0x2ab/0x5e0 [kvm] zap_gfn_range+0x1f3/0x310 [kvm] kvm_tdp_mmu_zap_invalidated_roots+0x50/0x90 [kvm] kvm_mmu_zap_all_fast+0x177/0x1a0 [kvm] set_nx_huge_pages+0xb4/0x190 [kvm] param_attr_store+0x70/0x100 module_attr_store+0x19/0x30 kernfs_fop_write_iter+0x119/0x1b0 new_sync_write+0x11c/0x1b0 vfs_write+0x1cc/0x270 ksys_write+0x5f/0xe0 do_syscall_64+0x38/0xc0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xae </TASK>

AnalysisAI

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: x86/mmu: Zap _all_ roots when unmapping gfn range in TDP MMU Zap both valid and invalid roots when zapping/unmapping a gfn. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Use After Free vulnerability could allow attackers to access freed memory to execute arbitrary code or crash the application.

Technical ContextAI

This vulnerability is classified as Use After Free (CWE-416), which allows attackers to access freed memory to execute arbitrary code or crash the application. In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: x86/mmu: Zap _all_ roots when unmapping gfn range in TDP MMU Zap both valid and invalid roots when zapping/unmapping a gfn range, as KVM must ensure it holds no references to the freed page after returning from the unmap operation. Most notably, the TDP MMU doesn't zap invalid roots in mmu_notifier callbacks. This leads to use-after-free and other issues if the mmu_notifier runs to completion while an invalid root zapper yields as KVM fails to honor the requirement that there must be _no_ references to the page after the mmu_notifier returns. The bug is most easily reproduced by hacking KVM to cause a collision between set_nx_huge_pages() and kvm_mmu_notifier_release(), but the bug exists between kvm_mmu_notifier_invalidate_range_start() and memslot updates as well. Invalidating a root ensures pages aren't accessible by the guest, and KVM won't read or write page data itself, but KVM will trigger e.g. kvm_set_pfn_dirty() when zapping SPTEs, and thus completing a zap of an invalid root _after_ the mmu_notifier returns is fatal. WARNING: CPU: 24 PID: 1496 at arch/x86/kvm/../../../virt/kvm/kvm_main.c:173 [kvm] RIP: 0010:kvm_is_zone_device_pfn+0x96/0xa0 [kvm] Call Trace: <TASK> kvm_set_pfn_dirty+0xa8/0xe0 [kvm] __handle_changed_spte+0x2ab/0x5e0 [kvm] __handle_changed_spte+0x2ab/0x5e0 [kvm] __handle_changed_spte+0x2ab/0x5e0 [kvm] zap_gfn_range+0x1f3/0x310 [kvm] kvm_tdp_mmu_zap_invalidated_roots+0x50/0x90 [kvm] kvm_mmu_zap_all_fast+0x177/0x1a0 [kvm] set_nx_huge_pages+0xb4/0x190 [kvm] param_attr_store+0x70/0x100 module_attr_store+0x19/0x30 kernfs_fop_write_iter+0x119/0x1b0 new_sync_write+0x11c/0x1b0 vfs_write+0x1cc/0x270 ksys_write+0x5f/0xe0 do_syscall_64+0x38/0xc0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xae </TASK> Affected products include: Linux Linux Kernel.

RemediationAI

A vendor patch is available. Apply the latest security update as soon as possible. Use smart pointers or garbage-collected languages. Set pointers to NULL after freeing. Enable memory sanitizers.

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Vendor StatusVendor

SUSE

Severity: High
Product Status
Container suse/sle-micro-rancher/5.3:latest Container suse/sle-micro-rancher/5.4:latest Image SLES15-SP4-BYOS Image SLES15-SP4-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP4-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP4-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP4-CHOST-BYOS Image SLES15-SP4-CHOST-BYOS-Aliyun Image SLES15-SP4-CHOST-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP4-CHOST-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP4-CHOST-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP4-CHOST-BYOS-SAP-CCloud Image SLES15-SP4-HPC-BYOS Image SLES15-SP4-HPC-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP4-HPC-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP4-HPC-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP4-HPC-EC2 Image SLES15-SP4-HPC-GCE Image SLES15-SP4-Hardened-BYOS Image SLES15-SP4-Hardened-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP4-Hardened-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP4-Hardened-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP4-Manager-Proxy-4-3-BYOS Image SLES15-SP4-Manager-Proxy-4-3-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP4-Manager-Proxy-4-3-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP4-Manager-Proxy-4-3-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP4-Manager-Server-4-3-BYOS Image SLES15-SP4-Manager-Server-4-3-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP4-Manager-Server-4-3-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP4-Manager-Server-4-3-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP4-Micro-5-3 Image SLES15-SP4-Micro-5-3-BYOS Image SLES15-SP4-Micro-5-3-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP4-Micro-5-3-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP4-Micro-5-3-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP4-Micro-5-3-EC2 Image SLES15-SP4-Micro-5-4 Image SLES15-SP4-Micro-5-4-BYOS Image SLES15-SP4-Micro-5-4-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP4-Micro-5-4-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP4-Micro-5-4-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP4-Micro-5-4-EC2 Image SLES15-SP4-Micro-5-4-GCE Image SLES15-SP4-SAP Image SLES15-SP4-SAP-Azure Image SLES15-SP4-SAP-EC2 Image SLES15-SP4-SAP-GCE Image SLES15-SP4-SAPCAL Image SLES15-SP4-SAPCAL-Azure Image SLES15-SP4-SAPCAL-EC2 Image SLES15-SP4-SAPCAL-GCE Affected
Container suse/sle-micro/base-5.5:2.0.4-5.8.160 Image SLES15-SP5-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP5-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP5-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP5-CHOST-BYOS-Aliyun Image SLES15-SP5-CHOST-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP5-CHOST-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP5-CHOST-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP5-CHOST-BYOS-GDC Image SLES15-SP5-CHOST-BYOS-SAP-CCloud Image SLES15-SP5-EC2 Image SLES15-SP5-GCE Image SLES15-SP5-HPC-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP5-HPC-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP5-HPC-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP5-Hardened-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP5-Hardened-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP5-Hardened-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP5-Manager-Proxy-5-0-BYOS Image SLES15-SP5-Manager-Proxy-5-0-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP5-Manager-Proxy-5-0-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP5-Manager-Proxy-5-0-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP5-Manager-Server-5-0 Image SLES15-SP5-Manager-Server-5-0-Azure-llc Image SLES15-SP5-Manager-Server-5-0-Azure-ltd Image SLES15-SP5-Manager-Server-5-0-BYOS Image SLES15-SP5-Manager-Server-5-0-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP5-Manager-Server-5-0-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP5-Manager-Server-5-0-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP5-Manager-Server-5-0-EC2-llc Image SLES15-SP5-Manager-Server-5-0-EC2-ltd Image SLES15-SP5-Micro-5-5 Image SLES15-SP5-Micro-5-5-Azure Image SLES15-SP5-Micro-5-5-BYOS Image SLES15-SP5-Micro-5-5-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP5-Micro-5-5-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP5-Micro-5-5-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP5-Micro-5-5-EC2 Image SLES15-SP5-Micro-5-5-GCE Image SLES15-SP5-SAPCAL-Azure Image SLES15-SP5-SAPCAL-EC2 Image SLES15-SP5-SAPCAL-GCE Affected
Container suse/sle-micro/kvm-5.5:2.0.4-3.5.304 Affected
Container suse/sle-micro/rt-5.5:2.0.4-4.5.352 Affected
Image SLES15-SP4-SAP-Azure-LI-BYOS Image SLES15-SP4-SAP-Azure-LI-BYOS-Production Image SLES15-SP4-SAP-Azure-VLI-BYOS Image SLES15-SP4-SAP-Azure-VLI-BYOS-Production Image SLES15-SP4-SAP-BYOS Image SLES15-SP4-SAP-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP4-SAP-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP4-SAP-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP4-SAP-Hardened Image SLES15-SP4-SAP-Hardened-Azure Image SLES15-SP4-SAP-Hardened-BYOS Image SLES15-SP4-SAP-Hardened-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP4-SAP-Hardened-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP4-SAP-Hardened-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP4-SAP-Hardened-GCE Affected

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CVE-2021-47639 vulnerability details – vuln.today

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