Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This Linux kernel issue is a memory leak in the auxiliary bus driver registration path. If driver registration fails, allocated driver-name memory was not freed. The sources do not provide CVSS, exploitation evidence, or business-impact detail, so urgency depends on whether affected kernels are deployed.
Executive priority
Treat this as routine kernel hygiene unless vendor guidance elevates it. There is no provided evidence of exploitation or high severity, but affected Linux kernels should still be patched through normal vulnerability management.
Technical view
__auxiliary_driver_register() allocated auxdrv->driver.name but did not release it when driver_register() returned an error. The referenced stable commits resolve the leak by freeing that allocation on the failure path. Public data identifies Linux kernel exposure but provides no CWE, CVSS, or exploit details.
Likely exposure
Exposure appears limited to Linux systems running affected kernel versions or builds containing the vulnerable auxiliary bus code. The bundle lists Linux 5.11, 5.13.6, 5.14, and commit 7de3697e9cbd as relevant, but exact downstream distro impact requires vendor kernel mapping.
Exploitation context
No active exploitation is indicated. The CVE is not listed as KEV in the provided bundle, and no cited source describes public exploitation. The described flaw is a memory leak on an error path, not a complete attack chain.
Researcher notes
Evidence is sparse: the record describes a specific cleanup bug and two stable commit references, but lacks CVSS, CWE, exploitability analysis, and downstream distro status. Avoid assuming remote exploitability or practical denial-of-service without additional vendor analysis.
Mitigation direction
- Check Linux vendor advisories for your exact kernel build and distribution.
- Update to a kernel containing the referenced stable fixes when available.
- Prioritize internet-facing or multi-tenant Linux hosts if affected kernels are present.
- Track downstream backports; distro version numbers may differ from upstream Linux versions.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Linux kernel versions across servers, containers hosts, and appliances.
- Map deployed kernels to vendor advisories or the referenced stable commits.
- Confirm whether auxiliary bus driver code is present in affected builds.
- Document systems awaiting vendor fixes or maintenance-window updates.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CVE-2021-47287 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Unknown
- CVSS
- Not scored
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
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.
SSVC decision data
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ce5b3de58fc21303722df46551f7eb9a91afb409CVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4afa0c22eed33cfe0c590742387f0d16f32412f3CVE reference, Linux
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.