CVE-2021-47492

What it is

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm, thp: bail out early in collapse_file for writeback page Currently collapse_file does not explicitly check PG_writeback, instead, page_has_private and try_to_release_page are used to filter writeback pages. This does not work for xfs with blocksize equal to or larger than pagesize, because in such case xfs has no page->private. This makes collapse_file bail out early for writeback page. Otherwise, xfs end_page_writeback will panic as follows. page:fffffe00201bcc80 refcount:0 mapcount:0 mapping:ffff0003f88c86a8 index:0x0 pfn:0x84ef32 aops:xfs_address_space_operations [xfs] ino:30000b7 dentry name:"libtest.so" flags: 0x57fffe0000008027(locked|referenced|uptodate|active|writeback) raw: 57fffe0000008027 ffff80001b48bc28 ffff80001b48bc28 ffff0003f88c86a8 raw: 0000000000000000 0000000000000000 00000000ffffffff ffff0000c3e9a000 page dumped because: VM_BUG_ON_PAGE(((unsigned int) page_ref_count(page) + 127u <= 127u)) page->mem_cgroup:ffff0000c3e9a000 ------------[ cut here ]------------ kernel BUG at include/linux/mm.h:1212! Internal error: Oops - BUG: 0 [#1] SMP Modules linked in: BUG: Bad page state in process khugepaged pfn:84ef32 xfs(E) page:fffffe00201bcc80 refcount:0 mapcount:0 mapping:0 index:0x0 pfn:0x84ef32 libcrc32c(E) rfkill(E) aes_ce_blk(E) crypto_simd(E) ... CPU: 25 PID: 0 Comm: swapper/25 Kdump: loaded Tainted: ... pstate: 60400005 (nZCv daif +PAN -UAO -TCO BTYPE=--) Call trace: end_page_writeback+0x1c0/0x214 iomap_finish_page_writeback+0x13c/0x204 iomap_finish_ioend+0xe8/0x19c iomap_writepage_end_bio+0x38/0x50 bio_endio+0x168/0x1ec blk_update_request+0x278/0x3f0 blk_mq_end_request+0x34/0x15c virtblk_request_done+0x38/0x74 [virtio_blk] blk_done_softirq+0xc4/0x110 __do_softirq+0x128/0x38c __irq_exit_rcu+0x118/0x150 irq_exit+0x1c/0x30 __handle_domain_irq+0x8c/0xf0 gic_handle_irq+0x84/0x108 el1_irq+0xcc/0x180 arch_cpu_idle+0x18/0x40 default_idle_call+0x4c/0x1a0 cpuidle_idle_call+0x168/0x1e0 do_idle+0xb4/0x104 cpu_startup_entry+0x30/0x9c secondary_start_kernel+0x104/0x180 Code: d4210000 b0006161 910c8021 94013f4d (d4210000) ---[ end trace 4a88c6a074082f8c ]--- Kernel panic - not syncing: Oops - BUG: Fatal exception in interrupt

At a glance

Exploitability

Can be exploited locally on the machine with a low-privilege account. High risk of data exposure, data tampering, service disruption.

Exploit odds

0.2% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS).

Fix

A patch, advisory or fixed version is referenced. Upgrade or apply it.

Timeline

1. 2024-05-22 09:15 UTC PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
2. 2026-08-04 10:17 UTC Last updatedMost recent change to the record

Why it ranks here

• Exploited in the wild: no, CISA does not list it.
• Exploit odds: 0.2% in the next 30 days (EPSS).
• Severity: 7.8 HIGH (CVSS).
• Fix: a patch or advisory is linked.

Details

Published

2024-05-22 09:15 UTC

Last modified

2026-08-04 10:17 UTC

Exploit probability

0.2% · EPSS, next 30 days

Record status

Modified

Affected

• Linux Kernel < 5.10.77
• Linux Kernel < 5.14.16
• Linux Kernel 5.15

Attack profile CVSS 3.1 · 7.8

Attack vector

Local

Complexity

Low

Privileges needed

Low

User interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Is it in your code?

Hand this to your coding agent. It searches your project for the affected products and checks versions. Nothing leaves your machine.

Read https://cve-list.com/agent/cve/CVE-2021-47492.md and follow it. Check whether this project is affected by CVE-2021-47492. Read only. Don't change anything and don't upload my code. Tell me yes, no or not sure, with the file as proof.

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