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NVD / CVE Program· CNA Linux

CVE-2021-47222: net: bridge: fix vlan tunnel dst refcnt when egressing

HighCVSS 7.8 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 31/100)

  • The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.24% (FIRST EPSS).
  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it. A low-privileged account is enough. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • Fixed version: Linux Linux 25053a8404ba17ca48f5553d487afc1882e9f56c, 42020f7f37a90d24b9551f5f7eba3f7c7c102968, 79855be6445b6592bddb7bd7167083ec8cdbd73f.
  • Mentioned 1 time in Turkish national cyber security advisories (siberguvenlik.gov.tr).

Low priority for now. Upgrade to Linux Linux 25053a8404ba17ca48f5553d487afc1882e9f56c, 42020f7f37a90d24b9551f5f7eba3f7c7c102968, 79855be6445b6592bddb7bd7167083ec8cdbd73f or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: bridge: fix vlan tunnel dst refcnt when egressing The egress tunnel code uses dst_clone() and directly sets the result which is wrong because the entry might have 0 refcnt or be already deleted, causing number of problems. It also triggers the WARN_ON() in dst_hold()[1] when a refcnt couldn't be taken. Fix it by using dst_hold_safe() and checking if a reference was actually taken before setting the dst. [1] dmesg WARN_ON log and following refcnt errors WARNING: CPU: 5 PID: 38 at include/net/dst.h:230 br_handle_egress_vlan_tunnel+0x10b/0x134 [bridge] Modules linked in: 8021q garp mrp bridge stp llc bonding ipv6 virtio_net CPU: 5 PID: 38 Comm: ksoftirqd/5 Kdump: loaded Tainted: G W 5.13.0-rc3+ #360 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.14.0-1.fc33 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:br_handle_egress_vlan_tunnel+0x10b/0x134 [bridge] Code: e8 85 bc 01 e1 45 84 f6 74 90 45 31 f6 85 db 48 c7 c7 a0 02 19 a0 41 0f 94 c6 31 c9 31 d2 44 89 f6 e8 64 bc 01 e1 85 db 75 02 <0f> 0b 31 c9 31 d2 44 89 f6 48 c7 c7 70 02 19 a0 e8 4b bc 01 e1 49 RSP: 0018:ffff8881003d39e8 EFLAGS: 00010246 RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: 0000000000000000 RCX: 0000000000000000 RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 0000000000000001 RDI: ffffffffa01902a0 RBP: ffff8881040c6700 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000001 R10: 2ce93d0054fe0d00 R11: 54fe0d00000e0000 R12: ffff888109515000 R13: 0000000000000000 R14: 0000000000000001 R15: 0000000000000401 FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff88822bf40000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 00007f42ba70f030 CR3: 0000000109926000 CR4: 00000000000006e0 Call Trace: br_handle_vlan+0xbc/0xca [bridge] __br_forward+0x23/0x164 [bridge] deliver_clone+0x41/0x48 [bridge] br_handle_frame_finish+0x36f/0x3aa [bridge] ? skb_dst+0x2e/0x38 [bridge] ? br_handle_ingress_vlan_tunnel+0x3e/0x1c8 [bridge] ? br_handle_frame_finish+0x3aa/0x3aa [bridge] br_handle_frame+0x2c3/0x377 [bridge] ? __skb_pull+0x33/0x51 ? vlan_do_receive+0x4f/0x36a ? br_handle_frame_finish+0x3aa/0x3aa [bridge] __netif_receive_skb_core+0x539/0x7c6 ? __list_del_entry_valid+0x16e/0x1c2 __netif_receive_skb_list_core+0x6d/0xd6 netif_receive_skb_list_internal+0x1d9/0x1fa gro_normal_list+0x22/0x3e dev_gro_receive+0x55b/0x600 ? detach_buf_split+0x58/0x140 napi_gro_receive+0x94/0x12e virtnet_poll+0x15d/0x315 [virtio_net] __napi_poll+0x2c/0x1c9 net_rx_action+0xe6/0x1fb __do_softirq+0x115/0x2d8 run_ksoftirqd+0x18/0x20 smpboot_thread_fn+0x183/0x19c ? smpboot_unregister_percpu_thread+0x66/0x66 kthread+0x10a/0x10f ? kthread_mod_delayed_work+0xb6/0xb6 ret_from_fork+0x22/0x30 ---[ end trace 49f61b07f775fd2b ]--- dst_release: dst:00000000c02d677a refcnt:-1 dst_release underflow

Published
May 21, 2024
Updated
Aug 5, 2026
EPSS
0.2% · 16th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

31

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
31 / 40 · 7.8 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.2%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
none
Automatable
no
Technical impact
partial

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
7.8
CNA · Linux
7.8
agree

The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.

Get told when this record changes

  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • No public exploit code on record
  • A fix has been released

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

Follow CVE-2021-47222

When you'll hear from us

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  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
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  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

VendorProduct
linuxlinux kernel

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • linux linux kernel4.11 and later · before 4.14.238
  • linux linux kernel4.15 and later · before 4.19.196
  • linux linux kernel4.20 and later · before 5.4.128
  • linux linux kernel5.5 and later · before 5.10.46
  • linux linux kernel5.11 and later · before 5.12.13
  • linux linux kernel5.13

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (Linux). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • Linux Linux

    • 4.11affected
    • 11538d039ac6efcf4f1a6c536e1b87cd3668a9fd and later · before 42020f7f37a90d24b9551f5f7eba3f7c7c102968affected · git
    • 11538d039ac6efcf4f1a6c536e1b87cd3668a9fd and later · before 84fc1c944e45ab317e2e70a0e7f76fa2a5e43b6eaffected · git
    • 11538d039ac6efcf4f1a6c536e1b87cd3668a9fd and later · before 79855be6445b6592bddb7bd7167083ec8cdbd73faffected · git
    • 11538d039ac6efcf4f1a6c536e1b87cd3668a9fd and later · before fc7fdd8c5c2ad2fe3e297698be9d4dbe4a4e0579affected · git
    • 11538d039ac6efcf4f1a6c536e1b87cd3668a9fd and later · before 25053a8404ba17ca48f5553d487afc1882e9f56caffected · git
    • 11538d039ac6efcf4f1a6c536e1b87cd3668a9fd and later · before cfc579f9d89af4ada58c69b03bcaa4887840f3b3affected · git
    • before 4.11not affected · semver
    • 4.14.238 and later · up to and including 4.14.*not affected · semver
    • 4.19.196 and later · up to and including 4.19.*not affected · semver

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Debian:12linuxbefore 5.10.46-15.10.46-1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 12 SP5kernel-defaultbefore 4.12.14-122.247.14.12.14-122.247.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 12 SP5kgraft-patch-SLE12-SP5_Update_65before 1-8.3.11-8.3.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5-LTSSkernel-sourcebefore 4.12.14-122.247.14.12.14-122.247.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5-LTSSkernel-symsbefore 4.12.14-122.247.14.12.14-122.247.1

Same product

linux: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2026-31431crypto: algif_aead - Revert to operating out-of-placeKEV
    90Now
  • CVE-2022-0847A flaw was found in the way the "flags" member of the new pipe buffer structure was lacking proper initialization in copy_page_to_iter_pipe…KEV
    89Now
  • CVE-2021-22555Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACEKEV
    85Now

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2020-36788May 21, 2024 · drm/nouveau: avoid a use-after-free when BO init fails
    31Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2021-47221May 21, 2024 · mm/slub: actually fix freelist pointer vs redzoning
    22Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2021-47223May 21, 2024 · net: bridge: fix vlan tunnel dst null pointer dereference
    22Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
Linux Linux25053a8404ba17ca48f5553d487afc1882e9f56cVendor (CNA)
Linux Linux42020f7f37a90d24b9551f5f7eba3f7c7c102968Vendor (CNA)
Linux Linux79855be6445b6592bddb7bd7167083ec8cdbd73fVendor (CNA)
Linux Linux84fc1c944e45ab317e2e70a0e7f76fa2a5e43b6eVendor (CNA)
Linux Linuxcfc579f9d89af4ada58c69b03bcaa4887840f3b3Vendor (CNA)
Linux Linuxfc7fdd8c5c2ad2fe3e297698be9d4dbe4a4e0579Vendor (CNA)
debian:linux5.10.46-1 · Debian:12Package registry (OSV)
suse:kernel-default4.12.14-122.247.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 12 SP5Package registry (OSV)
suse:kernel-source4.12.14-122.247.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5-LTSSPackage registry (OSV)
suse:kernel-syms4.12.14-122.247.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5-LTSSPackage registry (OSV)
suse:kgraft-patch-SLE12-SP5_Update_651-8.3.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 12 SP5Package registry (OSV)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

No history yet (it accumulates with the daily EPSS job).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

National notice (Türkiye Cybersecurity Directorate / USOM)

Official security notices citing this record; remediation advice is on the agency's page.

All national notices →

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
  • A low-privileged account is enough.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
high · data can be read
Integrity
high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
High
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-416 · Use After Free

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

nvd-primary

Root cause

After a memory region is freed, another reference pointing to it is still used. By then, the same region may have been allocated for different data.

The bug in code

The whole CWE-416 class

A representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.

Vulnerable

c
free(dev->buf);/* ... another thread is still running ... */process(dev->buf);

Fixed

c
lock(&dev->lock);free(dev->buf);dev->buf = NULL;unlock(&dev->lock);

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.

Change log

  1. Fix✗ → ✓

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

Show all references (5 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records