CVE-2021-47541: net/mlx4_en: Fix an use-after-free bug in mlx4_en_try_alloc_resources()

Severity: high (CVSS 7.8 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.3% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2024-05-24 · updated 2026-08-04
Weakness: CWE-416

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/mlx4_en: Fix an use-after-free bug in mlx4_en_try_alloc_resources() In mlx4_en_try_alloc_resources(), mlx4_en_copy_priv() is called and tmp->tx_cq will be freed on the error path of mlx4_en_copy_priv(). After that mlx4_en_alloc_resources() is called and there is a dereference of &tmp->tx_cq[t][i] in mlx4_en_alloc_resources(), which could lead to a use after free problem on failure of mlx4_en_copy_priv(). Fix this bug by adding a check of mlx4_en_copy_priv() This bug was found by a static analyzer. The analysis employs differential checking to identify inconsistent security operations (e.g., checks or kfrees) between two code paths and confirms that the inconsistent operations are not recovered in the current function or the callers, so they constitute bugs. Note that, as a bug found by static analysis, it can be a false positive or hard to trigger. Multiple researchers have cross-reviewed the bug. Builds with CONFIG_MLX4_EN=m show no new warnings, and our static analyzer no longer warns about this code.

Affected products

Linux kernel: from 4.7 before 4.14.257; from 4.15 before 4.19.220; from 4.20 before 5.4.164; from 5.5 before 5.10.84; from 5.11 before 5.15.7 — fixed in 4.14.257, 4.19.220, 5.10.84, 5.15.7, 5.4.164

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 4.14.257, 4.19.220, 5.10.84, 5.15.7. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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