CVE-2021-46981
5.5 · MEDIUMOverview
CVE-2021-46981 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting linux linux_kernel. It was published on February 28, 2024 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5, rated MEDIUM. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.
Technical Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
nbd: Fix NULL pointer in flush_workqueue
Open /dev/nbdX first, the config_refs will be 1 and
the pointers in nbd_device are still null. Disconnect
/dev/nbdX, then reference a null recv_workq. The
protection by config_refs in nbd_genl_disconnect is useless.
[ 656.366194] BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000020
[ 656.368943] #PF: supervisor write access in kernel mode
[ 656.369844] #PF: error_code(0x0002) - not-present page
[ 656.370717] PGD 10cc87067 P4D 10cc87067 PUD 1074b4067 PMD 0
[ 656.371693] Oops: 0002 [#1] SMP
[ 656.372242] CPU: 5 PID: 7977 Comm: nbd-client Not tainted 5.11.0-rc5-00040-g76c057c84d28 #1
[ 656.373661] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS ?-20190727_073836-buildvm-ppc64le-16.ppc.fedoraproject.org-3.fc31 04/01/2014
[ 656.375904] RIP: 0010:mutex_lock+0x29/0x60
[ 656.376627] Code: 00 0f 1f 44 00 00 55 48 89 fd 48 83 05 6f d7 fe 08 01 e8 7a c3 f
Remediation
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from linux. Update linux_kernel to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
Affected Products
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| linux | linux_kernel | >= 5.4, < 5.4.120 | Affected |
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2021-46981?
CVE-2021-46981 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting linux linux_kernel. It was published on February 28, 2024 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).
How severe is CVE-2021-46981?
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5, rated MEDIUM. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.
How do I fix or remediate CVE-2021-46981?
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from linux. Update linux_kernel to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2021-46981?
CyberStrike's AI-powered security agents can automatically detect CVE-2021-46981 across your infrastructure using autonomous pentesting, DAST scanning, and HackBrowser. The platform continuously monitors for known vulnerabilities and provides actionable remediation guidance prioritized by real-world exploitability.
How CyberStrike Helps
AI agents map your attack surface to find vulnerabilities like this one.
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