NULL pointer dereference in Linux

CVE-2021-47556

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ethtool: ioctl: fix potential NULL deref in ethtool_set_coalesce() ethtool_set_coalesce() now uses both the .get_coalesce() and .set_coalesce() callbacks. But the check for their availability is buggy, so changing the coalesce settings on a device where the driver provides only _one_ of the callbacks results in a NULL pointer dereference instead of an -EOPNOTSUPP. Fix the condition so that the availability of both callbacks is ensured. This also matches the netlink code. Note that reproducing this requires some effort - it only affects the legacy ioctl path, and needs a specific combination of driver options: - have .get_coalesce() and .coalesce_supported but no .set_coalesce(), or - have .set_coalesce() but no .get_coalesce(). Here eg. ethtool doesn't cause the crash as it first attempts to call ethtool_get_coalesce() and bails out on error.

EPSS: 0.002 (8.2th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 5.5 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-47556?
CVE-2021-47556 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under NULL Pointer Dereference. CVSS score: 5.5/10. Published 2024-05-24.
How severe is CVE-2021-47556?
Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.5 out of 10.