CVE-2021-47350

MEDIUM
Published May 21, 2024 Modified Apr 2, 2025 CWE-667

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: powerpc/mm: Fix lockup on kernel exec fault The powerpc kernel is not prepared to handle exec faults from kernel. Especially, the function is_exec_fault() will return 'false' when an exec fault is taken by kernel, because the check is based on reading current->thread.regs->trap which contains the trap from user. For instance, when provoking a LKDTM EXEC_USERSPACE test, current->thread.regs->trap is set to SYSCALL trap (0xc00), and the fault taken by the kernel is not seen as an exec fault by set_access_flags_filter(). Commit d7df2443cd5f ("powerpc/mm: Fix spurious segfaults on radix with autonuma") made it clear and handled it properly. But later on commit d3ca587404b3 ("powerpc/mm: Fix reporting of kernel execute faults") removed that handling, introducing test based on error_code. And here is the problem, because on the 603 all upper bits of SRR1 get cleared when the TLB instruction miss handler bails out to ISI. Until commit cbd7e6ca0210 ("powerpc/fault: Avoid heavy search_exception_tables() verification"), an exec fault from kernel at a userspace address was indirectly caught by the lack of entry for that address in the exception tables. But after that commit the kernel mainly relies on KUAP or on core mm handling to catch wrong user accesses. Here the access is not wrong, so mm handles it. It is a minor fault because PAGE_EXEC is not set, set_access_flags_filter() should set PAGE_EXEC and voila. But as is_exec_fault() returns false as explained in the beginning, set_access_flags_filter() bails out without setting PAGE_EXEC flag, which leads to a forever minor exec fault. As the kernel is not prepared to handle such exec faults, the thing to do is to fire in bad_kernel_fault() for any exec fault taken by the kernel, as it was prior to commit d3ca587404b3.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

5.5
MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-667 CWE-667

Affected Products

Vendor Product
linux linux_kernel
linux linux_kernel
linux linux_kernel
linux linux_kernel

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-47350? +
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: powerpc/mm: Fix lockup on kernel exec fault The powerpc kernel is not prepared to handle exec faults from kernel. Especially, the function is_exec_fault() will return 'false' when an exec fault is taken by kernel, because the check is based on reading current->thread.regs->trap which contains the trap from user. For instance, when provoking a LKDTM EXEC_USERSPACE test, current->thread.regs->trap is set to SYSCALL trap (0xc00), and the fault taken by the kernel is not seen as an exec fault by set_access_flags_filter(). Commit d7df2443cd5f ("powerpc/mm: Fix spurious segfaults on radix with autonuma") made it clear and handled it properly. But later on commit d3ca587404b3 ("powerpc/mm: Fix reporting of kernel execute faults") removed that handling, introducing test based on error_code. And here is the problem, because on the 603 all upper bits of SRR1 get cleared when the TLB instruction miss handler bails out to ISI. Until commit cbd7e6ca0210 ("powerpc/fault: Avoid heavy search_exception_tables() verification"), an exec fault from kernel at a userspace address was indirectly caught by the lack of entry for that address in the exception tables. But after that commit the kernel mainly relies on KUAP or on core mm handling to catch wrong user accesses. Here the access is not wrong, so mm handles it. It is a minor fault because PAGE_EXEC is not set, set_access_flags_filter() should set PAGE_EXEC and voila. But as is_exec_fault() returns false as explained in the beginning, set_access_flags_filter() bails out without setting PAGE_EXEC flag, which leads to a forever minor exec fault. As the kernel is not prepared to handle such exec faults, the thing to do is to fire in bad_kernel_fault() for any exec fault taken by the kernel, as it was prior to commit d3ca587404b3. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).
How severe is CVE-2021-47350? +
CVE-2021-47350 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 5.5 out of 10, rated MEDIUM. This is a medium-severity vulnerability that should be remediated as part of regular maintenance.
What products are affected by CVE-2021-47350? +
CVE-2021-47350 affects products from linux, specifically: linux_kernel. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.
How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2021-47350? +
You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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