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CVE Record

CVE-2021-46999: sctp: do asoc update earlier in sctp_sf_do_dupcook_a

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sctp: do asoc update earlier in sctp_sf_do_dupcook_a There's a panic that occurs in a few of envs, the call trace is as below: [] general protection fault, ... 0x29acd70f1000a: 0000 [#1] SMP PTI [] RIP: 0010:sctp_ulpevent_notify_peer_addr_change+0x4b/0x1fa [sctp] [] sctp_assoc_control_transport+0x1b9/0x210 [sctp] [] sctp_do_8_2_transport_strike.isra.16+0x15c/0x220 [sctp] [] sctp_cmd_interpreter.isra.21+0x1231/0x1a10 [sctp] [] sctp_do_sm+0xc3/0x2a0 [sctp] [] sctp_generate_timeout_event+0x81/0xf0 [sctp] This is caused by a transport use-after-free issue. When processing a duplicate COOKIE-ECHO chunk in sctp_sf_do_dupcook_a(), both COOKIE-ACK and SHUTDOWN chunks are allocated with the transort from the new asoc. However, later in the sideeffect machine, the old asoc is used to send them out and old asoc's shutdown_last_sent_to is set to the transport that SHUTDOWN chunk attached to in sctp_cmd_setup_t2(), which actually belongs to the new asoc. After the new_asoc is freed and the old asoc T2 timeout, the old asoc's shutdown_last_sent_to that is already freed would be accessed in sctp_sf_t2_timer_expire(). Thanks Alexander and Jere for helping dig into this issue. To fix it, this patch is to do the asoc update first, then allocate the COOKIE-ACK and SHUTDOWN chunks with the 'updated' old asoc. This would make more sense, as a chunk from an asoc shouldn't be sent out with another asoc. We had fixed quite a few issues caused by this.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

This Linux kernel flaw can crash affected systems that process vulnerable SCTP network traffic. SCTP is not common on every server, but it is used in some telecom, signaling, and specialized network services. The source bundle provides no CVSS score and no evidence of active exploitation.

Executive priority

Treat as a targeted availability risk rather than a broad emergency. Prioritize patching internet- or partner-facing systems that use SCTP, especially telecom or signaling infrastructure. For general servers without SCTP enabled, handle through normal kernel maintenance.

Technical view

The bug is a use-after-free in SCTP duplicate COOKIE-ECHO handling. COOKIE-ACK and SHUTDOWN chunks could be allocated against a new association but sent using the old association, leaving shutdown_last_sent_to pointing to freed transport memory and causing a kernel panic on T2 timeout.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely on Linux systems running affected kernel versions with SCTP enabled and reachable by untrusted SCTP peers. Systems that do not load or use SCTP have lower practical exposure, but version and configuration should be verified.

Exploitation context

The source describes a crash in several environments, but not a public exploit. The KEV flag is false, and the bundle does not claim active exploitation. The trigger involves SCTP duplicate COOKIE-ECHO processing, so exposure depends on SCTP availability and network reachability.

Researcher notes

The evidence is limited to the CVE record and Linux stable commit references. No CVSS, CWE, exploit status, or distribution-specific fix matrix is provided. Validation should focus on kernel lineage, SCTP enablement, and whether the stable fix has landed in the organization’s vendor kernel.

Mitigation direction

  • Update affected Linux kernels to vendor-supported fixed builds.
  • Prioritize systems exposing SCTP to untrusted networks.
  • If SCTP is unused, disable or restrict it per vendor guidance.
  • Review distribution advisories for exact fixed package versions.
  • Do not deploy directly from upstream commits without vendor validation.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Linux kernel versions across exposed hosts.
  • Check whether SCTP modules or services are enabled.
  • Identify systems accepting SCTP traffic from untrusted networks.
  • Confirm deployed kernels include the referenced stable fixes.
  • Monitor kernel logs for SCTP-related panics or association errors.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
8

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

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CVE-2021-46999 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

0CVSS vectors
3Timeline events
2ADP providers
7Source links

SSVC decision data

CISA-ADPCISA Coordinator
Timestamp
Version
2.0.3
Exploitation: noneAutomatable: noTechnical Impact: partial

Vulnerability timeline

Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.

  1. CVE reservedCVE Program

    The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.

  2. CVE publishedCVE Program

    The CVE record was published.

  3. CVE updatedCVE Program

    The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.

ADP provider summaries

CISA-ADPCISA ADP Vulnrichment
other:ssvc
CVECVE Program Container
Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinuxdb8bf823e70f239372c62f13e4eb6f08a1665e8c, a204d577be70e0a0a6023cf1b9859c9ebffaeecd, 145cb2f7177d94bc54563ed26027e952ee0ae03c, 145cb2f7177d94bc54563ed26027e952ee0ae03c, 145cb2f7177d94bc54563ed26027e952ee0ae03c, 145cb2f7177d94bc54563ed26027e952ee0ae03c, a5ce8531ea508d270822b2bc6140c6198c8a2a7bunaffected
LinuxLinux5.7, 0, 4.19.191, 5.4.120, 5.10.38, 5.11.22, 5.12.5, 5.13affected
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.