CVE-2021-46954 Vulnerability Analysis & Exploit Details

CVE-2021-46954
Vulnerability Scoring

7.1
/10
Very High Risk

Highly exploitable, CVE-2021-46954 poses a critical security risk that could lead to severe breaches.

Attack Complexity Details

  • Attack Complexity: Low
    Exploits can be performed without significant complexity or special conditions.
  • Attack Vector: Local
    Vulnerability requires local system access.
  • Privileges Required: Low
    Some privileges are necessary to exploit the vulnerability.
  • Scope: Unchanged
    Exploit remains within the originally vulnerable component.
  • User Interaction: None
    No user interaction is necessary for exploitation.

CVE-2021-46954 Details

Status: Modified

Last updated: 🕡 21 Nov 2024, 06:35 UTC
Originally published on: 🕖 27 Feb 2024, 19:04 UTC

Time between publication and last update: 267 days

CVSS Release: version 3

CVSS3 Source

nvd@nist.gov

CVSS3 Type

Primary

CVSS3 Vector

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

CVE-2021-46954 Vulnerability Summary

CVE-2021-46954: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/sched: sch_frag: fix stack OOB read while fragmenting IPv4 packets when 'act_mirred' tries to fragment IPv4 packets that had been previously re-assembled using 'act_ct', splats like the following can be observed on kernels built with KASAN: BUG: KASAN: stack-out-of-bounds in ip_do_fragment+0x1b03/0x1f60 Read of size 1 at addr ffff888147009574 by task ping/947 CPU: 0 PID: 947 Comm: ping Not tainted 5.12.0-rc6+ #418 Hardware name: Red Hat KVM, BIOS 1.11.1-4.module+el8.1.0+4066+0f1aadab 04/01/2014 Call Trace: <IRQ> dump_stack+0x92/0xc1 print_address_description.constprop.7+0x1a/0x150 kasan_report.cold.13+0x7f/0x111 ip_do_fragment+0x1b03/0x1f60 sch_fragment+0x4bf/0xe40 tcf_mirred_act+0xc3d/0x11a0 [act_mirred] tcf_action_exec+0x104/0x3e0 fl_classify+0x49a/0x5e0 [cls_flower] tcf_classify_ingress+0x18a/0x820 __netif_receive_skb_core+0xae7/0x3340 __netif_receive_skb_one_core+0xb6/0x1b0 process_backlog+0x1ef/0x6c0 __napi_poll+0xaa/0x500 net_rx_action+0x702/0xac0 __do_softirq+0x1e4/0x97f do_softirq+0x71/0x90 </IRQ> __local_bh_enable_ip+0xdb/0xf0 ip_finish_output2+0x760/0x2120 ip_do_fragment+0x15a5/0x1f60 __ip_finish_output+0x4c2/0xea0 ip_output+0x1ca/0x4d0 ip_send_skb+0x37/0xa0 raw_sendmsg+0x1c4b/0x2d00 sock_sendmsg+0xdb/0x110 __sys_sendto+0x1d7/0x2b0 __x64_sys_sendto+0xdd/0x1b0 do_syscall_64+0x33/0x40 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xae RIP: 0033:0x7f82e13853eb Code: 66 2e 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 0f 1f 44 00 00 f3 0f 1e fa 48 8d 05 75 42 2c 00 41 89 ca 8b 00 85 c0 75 14 b8 2c 00 00 00 0f 05 <48> 3d 00 f0 ff ff 77 75 c3 0f 1f 40 00 41 57 4d 89 c7 41 56 41 89 RSP: 002b:00007ffe01fad888 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: 000000000000002c RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 00005571aac13700 RCX: 00007f82e13853eb RDX: 0000000000002330 RSI: 00005571aac13700 RDI: 0000000000000003 RBP: 0000000000002330 R08: 00005571aac10500 R09: 0000000000000010 R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000000000000246 R12: 00007ffe01faefb0 R13: 00007ffe01fad890 R14: 00007ffe01fad980 R15: 00005571aac0f0a0 The buggy address belongs to the page: page:000000001dff2e03 refcount:1 mapcount:0 mapping:0000000000000000 index:0x0 pfn:0x147009 flags: 0x17ffffc0001000(reserved) raw: 0017ffffc0001000 ffffea00051c0248 ffffea00051c0248 0000000000000000 raw: 0000000000000000 0000000000000000 00000001ffffffff 0000000000000000 page dumped because: kasan: bad access detected Memory state around the buggy address: ffff888147009400: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ffff888147009480: f1 f1 f1 f1 04 f2 f2 f2 f2 f2 f2 f2 00 00 00 00 >ffff888147009500: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 f2 f2 f2 f2 f2 f2 ^ ffff888147009580: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ffff888147009600: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 f2 f2 f2 for IPv4 packets, sch_fragment() uses a temporary struct dst_entry. Then, in the following call graph: ip_do_fragment() ip_skb_dst_mtu() ip_dst_mtu_maybe_forward() ip_mtu_locked() the pointer to struct dst_entry is used as pointer to struct rtable: this turns the access to struct members like rt_mtu_locked into an OOB read in the stack. Fix this changing the temporary variable used for IPv4 packets in sch_fragment(), similarly to what is done for IPv6 few lines below.

Assessing the Risk of CVE-2021-46954

Access Complexity Graph

The exploitability of CVE-2021-46954 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).

Exploitability Analysis for CVE-2021-46954

CVE-2021-46954 presents an accessible attack vector with minimal effort required. Restricting access controls and implementing security updates are critical to reducing exploitation risks.

Understanding AC and PR

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.

CVSS Score Breakdown Chart

Above is the CVSS Sub-score Breakdown for CVE-2021-46954, 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.

CIA Impact Analysis

Below is the Impact Analysis for CVE-2021-46954, showing how Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability might be affected if the vulnerability is exploited. Higher values usually signal greater potential damage.

  • Confidentiality: High
    Exploiting CVE-2021-46954 can result in unauthorized access to sensitive data, severely compromising data privacy.
  • Integrity: None
    CVE-2021-46954 poses no threat to data integrity.
  • Availability: High
    CVE-2021-46954 can disrupt system operations, potentially causing complete denial of service (DoS).

Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS)

The EPSS score estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the near future.

EPSS Score: 0.042% (probability of exploit)

EPSS Percentile: 5.07% (lower percentile = lower relative risk)
This vulnerability is less risky than approximately 94.93% of others.

CVE-2021-46954 References

External References

CWE Common Weakness Enumeration

CWE-125

CAPEC Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification

  • Overread Buffers CAPEC-540 An adversary attacks a target by providing input that causes an application to read beyond the boundary of a defined buffer. This typically occurs when a value influencing where to start or stop reading is set to reflect positions outside of the valid memory location of the buffer. This type of attack may result in exposure of sensitive information, a system crash, or arbitrary code execution.

Vulnerable Configurations

  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.11.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.11.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.11.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.11.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.11.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.11.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.11.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.11.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.11.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.11.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.11.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.11.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.11.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.11.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.11.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.11.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.11.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.11.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.11.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.11.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.11.11:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.11.11:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.11.12:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.11.12:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.11.13:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.11.13:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.11.14:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.11.14:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.11.15:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.11.15:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.11.16:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.11.16:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.11.17:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.11.17:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.11.18:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.11.18:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.11.19:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.11.19:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.12.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.12.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.12.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.12.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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