SOC status:Duty analyst on shift

UK Cyber Defence
VulnerabilityModified

CVE-2021-3491

The io_uring subsystem in the Linux kernel allowed the MAX_RW_COUNT limit to be bypassed in the PROVIDE_BUFFERS operation, which led to negative values being usedin mem_rw when reading /proc/<PID>/mem.

HIGH 8.8EPSS 0.64%

Does this matter?

High impact if exploited, but EPSS currently rates exploitation as unlikely (0.64%). Schedule it in the normal patch cycle and watch for a rise in EPSS or a public exploit.

Description

The io_uring subsystem in the Linux kernel allowed the MAX_RW_COUNT limit to be bypassed in the PROVIDE_BUFFERS operation, which led to negative values being usedin mem_rw when reading /proc/<PID>/mem. This could be used to create a heap overflow leading to arbitrary code execution in the kernel. It was addressed via commit d1f82808877b ("io_uring: truncate lengths larger than MAX_RW_COUNT on provide buffers") (v5.13-rc1) and backported to the stable kernels in v5.12.4, v5.11.21, and v5.10.37. It was introduced in ddf0322db79c ("io_uring: add IORING_OP_PROVIDE_BUFFERS") (v5.7-rc1).

CVSS 3.1
8.8 HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS
0.64% probability · 49th percentile
CISA KEV
Not listed
Weakness
CWE-131, CWE-787
Affected
linux/linux kernel · canonical/ubuntu linux
Source
security@ubuntu.com

Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA. Refreshed daily.