Cloudanix VulnDB

CVE-2021-46956

None

CVSS

—

EPSS

0.2%

Published

Feb 27, 2024

CISA due date

—

Cloudanix analysis

Monitor only SSVC: Track

A configuration mistake with duplicate device tags can slowly waste memory on certain Linux systems until the software is updated.

Exploitation
Local Privilege
Attacker needs
Low Privilege
Complexity
Theoretical
Impact
Denial Of Service
Component
OS kernel
Class
Memory Corruption
Remediation
Upgrade
Effort
Medium
Patch risk
Low

What it actually does

Memory leak in virtio_fs_probe() triggered when duplicate tags are passed, leaving unreferenced kernel objects allocated during virtio_dev_probe.

Why it matters to the business

Gradual memory exhaustion on affected Ubuntu systems running mysql-8.0, increasing operational risk of instability in virtualized environments; low urgency given no KEV listing, no ransomware use, stable low EPSS, and 966 days since publication.

How an attack unfolds

An attacker supplies duplicate virtiofs tags to QEMU, causing the probe routine to allocate memory that is never freed after the -17 error return, observable via kmemleak.

How to fix it

Upgrade mysql-8.0 packages on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS and 22.04 LTS to version 8.0.36-0ubuntu0.20.04.1 or 8.0.36-0ubuntu0.22.04.1 respectively.

How to confirm the fix worked

Confirm installed package versions match the listed fixed releases and re-run kmemleak after duplicate-tag test cases.

Typical attack path

  1. Supply duplicate tag to QEMU virtiofs device
  2. Trigger kernel module probe via udev or driver attach
  3. Cause allocation without corresponding free on error path

How to detect it

Search system logs for 'virtiofs: probe of virtio.* failed with error -17' and examine kmemleak reports referencing virtio_fs_probe backtraces.

  • virtiofs: probe of virtio5 failed with error -17
  • unreferenced object.*virtio_fs_probe+0x171

What your security team should do

  • Apply the specified Ubuntu package updates across all affected mysql-8.0 deployments
  • Audit QEMU configurations to prevent duplicate virtiofs tags
  • Enable kmemleak monitoring on systems using virtiofs

The record

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: virtiofs: fix memory leak in virtio_fs_probe() When accidentally passing twice the same tag to qemu, kmemleak ended up reporting a memory leak in virtiofs. Also, looking at the log I saw the following error (that's when I realised the duplicated tag): virtiofs: probe of virtio5 failed with error -17 Here's the kmemleak log for reference: unreferenced object 0xffff888103d47800 (size 1024): comm "systemd-udevd", pid 118, jiffies 4294893780 (age 18.340s) hex dump (first 32 bytes): 00 00 00 00 ad 4e ad de ff ff ff ff 00 00 00 00 .....N.......... ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff 80 90 02 a0 ff ff ff ff ................ backtrace: [<000000000ebb87c1>] virtio_fs_probe+0x171/0x7ae [virtiofs] [<00000000f8aca419>] virtio_dev_probe+0x15f/0x210 [<000000004d6baf3c>] really_probe+0xea/0x430 [<00000000a6ceeac8>] device_driver_attach+0xa8/0xb0 [<00000000196f47a7>] __driver_attach+0x98/0x140 [<000000000b20601d>] bus_for_each_dev+0x7b/0xc0 [<00000000399c7b7f>] bus_add_driver+0x11b/0x1f0 [<0000000032b09ba7>] driver_register+0x8f/0xe0 [<00000000cdd55998>] 0xffffffffa002c013 [<000000000ea196a2>] do_one_initcall+0x64/0x2e0 [<0000000008f727ce>] do_init_module+0x5c/0x260 [<000000003cdedab6>] __do_sys_finit_module+0xb5/0x120 [<00000000ad2f48c6>] do_syscall_64+0x33/0x40 [<00000000809526b5>] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xae

Affected packages

Ecosystem Package Introduced Fixed
Debian:11 linux 0 5.10.38-1
Debian:12 linux 0 5.10.38-1
Debian:13 linux 0 5.10.38-1
SUSE:Enterprise Storage 7.1 kernel-64kb 0 5.3.18-150300.59.158.1
SUSE:Enterprise Storage 7.1 kernel-default 0 5.3.18-150300.59.158.1
SUSE:Enterprise Storage 7.1 kernel-default-base 0 5.3.18-150300.59.158.1.150300.18.92.5
SUSE:Enterprise Storage 7.1 kernel-docs 0 5.3.18-150300.59.158.1
SUSE:Enterprise Storage 7.1 kernel-obs-build 0 5.3.18-150300.59.158.1
SUSE:Enterprise Storage 7.1 kernel-preempt 0 5.3.18-150300.59.158.1
SUSE:Enterprise Storage 7.1 kernel-source 0 5.3.18-150300.59.158.1
SUSE:Enterprise Storage 7.1 kernel-syms 0 5.3.18-150300.59.158.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP3 kernel-default 0 5.3.18-150300.59.158.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-LTSS kernel-64kb 0 5.3.18-150300.59.158.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-LTSS kernel-default 0 5.3.18-150300.59.158.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-LTSS kernel-default-base 0 5.3.18-150300.59.158.1.150300.18.92.5
SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-LTSS kernel-docs 0 5.3.18-150300.59.158.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-LTSS kernel-obs-build 0 5.3.18-150300.59.158.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-LTSS kernel-preempt 0 5.3.18-150300.59.158.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-LTSS kernel-source 0 5.3.18-150300.59.158.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-LTSS kernel-syms 0 5.3.18-150300.59.158.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP3 kernel-default 0 5.3.18-150300.59.158.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP3 kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP3_Update_43 0 1-150300.7.3.5
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.1 kernel-default 0 5.3.18-150300.59.158.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.1 kernel-default-base 0 5.3.18-150300.59.158.1.150300.18.92.5
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.1 kernel-rt 0 5.3.18-150300.166.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.1 kernel-source-rt 0 5.3.18-150300.166.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.2 kernel-default 0 5.3.18-150300.59.158.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.2 kernel-default-base 0 5.3.18-150300.59.158.1.150300.18.92.5
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.2 kernel-rt 0 5.3.18-150300.166.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.2 kernel-source-rt 0 5.3.18-150300.166.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3-LTSS kernel-64kb 0 5.3.18-150300.59.158.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3-LTSS kernel-default 0 5.3.18-150300.59.158.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3-LTSS kernel-default-base 0 5.3.18-150300.59.158.1.150300.18.92.5
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3-LTSS kernel-docs 0 5.3.18-150300.59.158.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3-LTSS kernel-obs-build 0 5.3.18-150300.59.158.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3-LTSS kernel-preempt 0 5.3.18-150300.59.158.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3-LTSS kernel-source 0 5.3.18-150300.59.158.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3-LTSS kernel-syms 0 5.3.18-150300.59.158.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3-LTSS kernel-zfcpdump 0 5.3.18-150300.59.158.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP3 kernel-default 0 5.3.18-150300.59.158.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP3 kernel-default-base 0 5.3.18-150300.59.158.1.150300.18.92.5
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP3 kernel-docs 0 5.3.18-150300.59.158.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP3 kernel-obs-build 0 5.3.18-150300.59.158.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP3 kernel-preempt 0 5.3.18-150300.59.158.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP3 kernel-source 0 5.3.18-150300.59.158.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP3 kernel-syms 0 5.3.18-150300.59.158.1
Ubuntu:14.04:LTS linux 0 3.11.0-12.19
Ubuntu:14.04:LTS linux-aws 0 4.4.0-1002.2
Ubuntu:14.04:LTS linux-azure 0 4.15.0-1023.24~14.04.1
Ubuntu:14.04:LTS linux-lts-xenial 0 4.4.0-13.29~14.04.1
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux 0 4.4.0-2.16
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux-aws 0 4.4.0-1001.10
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux-aws-hwe 0 4.15.0-1030.31~16.04.1
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux-azure 0 4.11.0-1009.9
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux-gcp 0 4.10.0-1004.4
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux-hwe 0 4.8.0-39.42~16.04.1
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux-hwe-edge 0 No fix
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux-kvm 0 4.4.0-1004.9
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux-oracle 0 4.15.0-1007.9~16.04.1
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux 0 4.13.0-16.19
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-aws 0 4.15.0-1001.1
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-aws-5.0 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-aws-5.3 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-aws-5.4 0 5.4.0-1051.53~18.04.1
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-azure 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-azure-4.15 0 4.15.0-1082.92
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-azure-5.3 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-azure-5.4 0 5.4.0-1051.53~18.04.1
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-azure-edge 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-gcp 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-gcp-4.15 0 4.15.0-1071.81
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-gcp-5.3 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-gcp-5.4 0 5.4.0-1046.49~18.04.1
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-gke-4.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-gke-5.4 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-gkeop-5.4 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-hwe 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-hwe-5.4 0 5.4.0-77.86~18.04.1
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-hwe-edge 0 5.0.0-15.16~18.04.1
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-ibm-5.4 0 5.4.0-1010.11~18.04.2
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-kvm 0 4.15.0-1002.2
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-oem 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-oem-osp1 0 5.0.0-1010.11
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-oracle 0 4.15.0-1007.9
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-oracle-5.0 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-oracle-5.3 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-oracle-5.4 0 5.4.0-1048.52~18.04.1
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-raspi-5.4 0 5.4.0-1038.41~18.04.1
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux 0 5.4.0-77.86
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-aws 0 5.4.0-1051.53
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-aws-5.11 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-aws-5.13 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-aws-5.15 0 5.15.0-1014.18~20.04.1
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-aws-5.8 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-azure 0 5.4.0-1051.53
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-azure-5.11 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-azure-5.13 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-azure-5.15 0 5.15.0-1007.8~20.04.1
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-azure-5.8 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-azure-fde 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-azure-fde-5.15 0 5.15.0-1019.24~20.04.1.1
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-bluefield 0 5.4.0-1013.16
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gcp 0 5.4.0-1046.49
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gcp-5.11 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gcp-5.13 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gcp-5.15 0 5.15.0-1006.9~20.04.1
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gcp-5.8 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gke 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gke-5.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gkeop 0 5.4.0-1018.19
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gkeop-5.15 0 5.15.0-1003.5~20.04.2
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-hwe-5.11 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-hwe-5.13 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-hwe-5.15 0 5.15.0-33.34~20.04.1
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-hwe-5.8 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-ibm 0 5.4.0-1003.4
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-ibm-5.15 0 5.15.0-1033.36~20.04.1
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-intel-5.13 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-intel-iotg-5.15 0 5.15.0-1003.5~20.04.1
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-iot 0 5.4.0-1001.3
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-kvm 0 5.4.0-1041.42
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.15 0 5.15.0-33.34~20.04.1
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-oem-5.10 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-oem-5.13 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-oem-5.14 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-oem-5.6 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-oracle 0 5.4.0-1048.52
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-oracle-5.11 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-oracle-5.13 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-oracle-5.15 0 5.15.0-1007.9~20.04.1
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-oracle-5.8 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-raspi 0 5.4.0-1038.41
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-raspi2 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-riscv 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-riscv-5.11 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-riscv-5.15 0 5.15.0-1015.17~20.04.1
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-riscv-5.8 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-xilinx-zynqmp 0 5.4.0-1020.24
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux 0 5.13.0-19.19
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-allwinner-5.19 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-aws 0 5.13.0-1005.6
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-aws-5.19 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-aws-6.2 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-aws-6.5 0 6.5.0-1008.8~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-aws-6.8 0 6.8.0-1009.9~22.04.2
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure 0 5.13.0-1006.7
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure-5.19 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure-6.2 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure-6.5 0 6.5.0-1007.7~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure-6.8 0 6.8.0-1008.8~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure-fde 0 5.15.0-1019.24.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure-fde-5.19 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure-fde-6.2 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gcp 0 5.13.0-1005.6
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gcp-5.19 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gcp-6.2 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gcp-6.5 0 6.5.0-1010.10~22.04.3
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gcp-6.8 0 6.8.0-1010.11~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gke 0 5.15.0-1002.2
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gkeop 0 5.15.0-1001.2
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-hwe-5.19 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-hwe-6.2 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-hwe-6.5 0 6.5.0-14.14~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-hwe-6.8 0 6.8.0-38.38~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-ibm 0 5.15.0-1002.2
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-intel-iot-realtime 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-intel-iot-realtime 0 5.15.0-1021.26
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-intel-iotg 0 5.15.0-1004.6
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-kvm 0 5.13.0-1004.4
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-lowlatency 0 5.15.0-22.22
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.19 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.2 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.5 0 6.5.0-14.14.1~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.8 0 6.8.0-38.38.1~22.04.2
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-nvidia 0 5.15.0-1005.5
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-nvidia-6.2 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-nvidia-6.5 0 6.5.0-1004.4
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-nvidia-6.8 0 6.8.0-1008.8~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-oem-5.17 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-oem-6.0 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-oem-6.1 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-oem-6.5 0 6.5.0-1003.3
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-oracle 0 5.13.0-1008.10
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-oracle-6.5 0 6.5.0-1013.13~22.04.4
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-oracle-6.8 0 6.8.0-1006.6~22.04.3
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-raspi 0 5.13.0-1008.9
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-realtime 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-riscv 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-riscv-5.19 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-riscv-6.5 0 6.5.0-17.17.1.1~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-riscv-6.8 0 6.8.0-38.38.1~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-starfive-5.19 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-starfive-6.2 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-starfive-6.5 0 6.5.0-1007.8~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-xilinx-zynqmp 0 5.15.0-1022.26
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS:for:NVIDIA:BlueField linux-bluefield 0 5.15.0-1011.13
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux 0 6.5.0-9.9
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-aws 0 6.5.0-1008.8
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-azure 0 6.5.0-1007.7
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-gcp 0 6.5.0-1007.7

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