CVE-2021-47430: x86/entry: Clear X86_FEATURE_SMAP when CONFIG_X86_SMAP=n

Severity: low (CVSS 3.3 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.2% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2024-05-21 · updated 2026-06-17

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: x86/entry: Clear X86_FEATURE_SMAP when CONFIG_X86_SMAP=n Commit 3c73b81a9164 ("x86/entry, selftests: Further improve user entry sanity checks") added a warning if AC is set when in the kernel. Commit 662a0221893a3d ("x86/entry: Fix AC assertion") changed the warning to only fire if the CPU supports SMAP. However, the warning can still trigger on a machine that supports SMAP but where it's disabled in the kernel config and when running the syscall_nt selftest, for example: ------------[ cut here ]------------ WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 49 at irqentry_enter_from_user_mode CPU: 0 PID: 49 Comm: init Tainted: G T 5.15.0-rc4+ #98 e6202628ee053b4f310759978284bd8bb0ce6905 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.10.2-1ubuntu1 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:irqentry_enter_from_user_mode ... Call Trace: ? irqentry_enter ? exc_general_protection ? asm_exc_general_protection ? asm_exc_general_protectio IS_ENABLED(CONFIG_X86_SMAP) could be added to the warning condition, but even this would not be enough in case SMAP is disabled at boot time with the "nosmap" parameter. To be consistent with "nosmap" behaviour, clear X86_FEATURE_SMAP when !CONFIG_X86_SMAP. Found using entry-fuzz + satrandconfig. [ bp: Massage commit message. ]

Affected products

Linux kernel: from 5.8.1 before 5.10.73; from 5.11 before 5.14.12; 5.8, 5.8-rc4, 5.8-rc5, 5.8-rc6, 5.8-rc7, 5.15-rc1 (+3) — fixed in 5.10.73, 5.14.12

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 5.10.73, 5.14.12. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

Get alerted when CVE-2021-47430 or the next vulnerability affects your stack