Security assessments indicate that CVE-2021-46910 presents a notable risk, potentially requiring prompt mitigation.
Status: Modified
Last updated: 🕡 21 Nov 2024, 06:34 UTC
Originally published on: 🕖 27 Feb 2024, 07:15 UTC
Time between publication and last update: 267 days
CVSS Release: version 3
nvd@nist.gov
Primary
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CVE-2021-46910: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ARM: 9063/1: mm: reduce maximum number of CPUs if DEBUG_KMAP_LOCAL is enabled The debugging code for kmap_local() doubles the number of per-CPU fixmap slots allocated for kmap_local(), in order to use half of them as guard regions. This causes the fixmap region to grow downwards beyond the start of its reserved window if the supported number of CPUs is large, and collide with the newly added virtual DT mapping right below it, which is obviously not good. One manifestation of this is EFI boot on a kernel built with NR_CPUS=32 and CONFIG_DEBUG_KMAP_LOCAL=y, which may pass the FDT in highmem, resulting in block entries below the fixmap region that the fixmap code misidentifies as fixmap table entries, and subsequently tries to dereference using a phys-to-virt translation that is only valid for lowmem. This results in a cryptic splat such as the one below. ftrace: allocating 45548 entries in 89 pages 8<--- cut here --- Unable to handle kernel paging request at virtual address fc6006f0 pgd = (ptrval) [fc6006f0] *pgd=80000040207003, *pmd=00000000 Internal error: Oops: a06 [#1] SMP ARM Modules linked in: CPU: 0 PID: 0 Comm: swapper Not tainted 5.11.0+ #382 Hardware name: Generic DT based system PC is at cpu_ca15_set_pte_ext+0x24/0x30 LR is at __set_fixmap+0xe4/0x118 pc : [<c041ac9c>] lr : [<c04189d8>] psr: 400000d3 sp : c1601ed8 ip : 00400000 fp : 00800000 r10: 0000071f r9 : 00421000 r8 : 00c00000 r7 : 00c00000 r6 : 0000071f r5 : ffade000 r4 : 4040171f r3 : 00c00000 r2 : 4040171f r1 : c041ac78 r0 : fc6006f0 Flags: nZcv IRQs off FIQs off Mode SVC_32 ISA ARM Segment none Control: 30c5387d Table: 40203000 DAC: 00000001 Process swapper (pid: 0, stack limit = 0x(ptrval)) So let's limit CONFIG_NR_CPUS to 16 when CONFIG_DEBUG_KMAP_LOCAL=y. Also, fix the BUILD_BUG_ON() check that was supposed to catch this, by checking whether the region grows below the start address rather than above the end address.
The exploitability of CVE-2021-46910 depends on two key factors: attack complexity (the level of effort required to execute an exploit) and privileges required (the access level an attacker needs).
CVE-2021-46910 presents an accessible attack vector with minimal effort required. Restricting access controls and implementing security updates are critical to reducing exploitation risks.
A lower complexity and fewer privilege requirements make exploitation easier. Security teams should evaluate these aspects to determine the urgency of mitigation strategies, such as patch management and access control policies.
Attack Complexity (AC) measures the difficulty in executing an exploit. A high AC means that specific conditions must be met, making an attack more challenging, while a low AC means the vulnerability can be exploited with minimal effort.
Privileges Required (PR) determine the level of system access necessary for an attack. Vulnerabilities requiring no privileges are more accessible to attackers, whereas high privilege requirements limit exploitation to authorized users with elevated access.
Above is the CVSS Sub-score Breakdown for CVE-2021-46910, illustrating how Base, Impact, and Exploitability factors combine to form the overall severity rating. A higher sub-score typically indicates a more severe or easier-to-exploit vulnerability.
Below is the Impact Analysis for CVE-2021-46910, showing how Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability might be affected if the vulnerability is exploited. Higher values usually signal greater potential damage.
The EPSS score estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the near future.
EPSS Score: 0.043% (probability of exploit)
EPSS Percentile: 11.87%
(lower percentile = lower relative risk)
This vulnerability is less risky than approximately 88.13% of others.
NVD-CWE-noinfo
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