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CVE-2021-47337: scsi: core: Fix bad pointer dereference when ehandler kthread is invalid

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: scsi: core: Fix bad pointer dereference when ehandler kthread is invalid Commit 66a834d09293 ("scsi: core: Fix error handling of scsi_host_alloc()") changed the allocation logic to call put_device() to perform host cleanup with the assumption that IDA removal and stopping the kthread would properly be performed in scsi_host_dev_release(). However, in the unlikely case that the error handler thread fails to spawn, shost->ehandler is set to ERR_PTR(-ENOMEM). The error handler cleanup code in scsi_host_dev_release() will call kthread_stop() if shost->ehandler != NULL which will always be the case whether the kthread was successfully spawned or not. In the case that it failed to spawn this has the nasty side effect of trying to dereference an invalid pointer when kthread_stop() is called. The following splat provides an example of this behavior in the wild: scsi host11: error handler thread failed to spawn, error = -4 Kernel attempted to read user page (10c) - exploit attempt? (uid: 0) BUG: Kernel NULL pointer dereference on read at 0x0000010c Faulting instruction address: 0xc00000000818e9a8 Oops: Kernel access of bad area, sig: 11 [#1] LE PAGE_SIZE=64K MMU=Hash SMP NR_CPUS=2048 NUMA pSeries Modules linked in: ibmvscsi(+) scsi_transport_srp dm_multipath dm_mirror dm_region hash dm_log dm_mod fuse overlay squashfs loop CPU: 12 PID: 274 Comm: systemd-udevd Not tainted 5.13.0-rc7 #1 NIP: c00000000818e9a8 LR: c0000000089846e8 CTR: 0000000000007ee8 REGS: c000000037d12ea0 TRAP: 0300 Not tainted (5.13.0-rc7) MSR: 800000000280b033 <SF,VEC,VSX,EE,FP,ME,IR,DR,RI,LE> CR: 28228228 XER: 20040001 CFAR: c0000000089846e4 DAR: 000000000000010c DSISR: 40000000 IRQMASK: 0 GPR00: c0000000089846e8 c000000037d13140 c000000009cc1100 fffffffffffffffc GPR04: 0000000000000001 0000000000000000 0000000000000000 c000000037dc0000 GPR08: 0000000000000000 c000000037dc0000 0000000000000001 00000000fffff7ff GPR12: 0000000000008000 c00000000a049000 c000000037d13d00 000000011134d5a0 GPR16: 0000000000001740 c0080000190d0000 c0080000190d1740 c000000009129288 GPR20: c000000037d13bc0 0000000000000001 c000000037d13bc0 c0080000190b7898 GPR24: c0080000190b7708 0000000000000000 c000000033bb2c48 0000000000000000 GPR28: c000000046b28280 0000000000000000 000000000000010c fffffffffffffffc NIP [c00000000818e9a8] kthread_stop+0x38/0x230 LR [c0000000089846e8] scsi_host_dev_release+0x98/0x160 Call Trace: [c000000033bb2c48] 0xc000000033bb2c48 (unreliable) [c0000000089846e8] scsi_host_dev_release+0x98/0x160 [c00000000891e960] device_release+0x60/0x100 [c0000000087e55c4] kobject_release+0x84/0x210 [c00000000891ec78] put_device+0x28/0x40 [c000000008984ea4] scsi_host_alloc+0x314/0x430 [c0080000190b38bc] ibmvscsi_probe+0x54/0xad0 [ibmvscsi] [c000000008110104] vio_bus_probe+0xa4/0x4b0 [c00000000892a860] really_probe+0x140/0x680 [c00000000892aefc] driver_probe_device+0x15c/0x200 [c00000000892b63c] device_driver_attach+0xcc/0xe0 [c00000000892b740] __driver_attach+0xf0/0x200 [c000000008926f28] bus_for_each_dev+0xa8/0x130 [c000000008929ce4] driver_attach+0x34/0x50 [c000000008928fc0] bus_add_driver+0x1b0/0x300 [c00000000892c798] driver_register+0x98/0x1a0 [c00000000810eb60] __vio_register_driver+0x80/0xe0 [c0080000190b4a30] ibmvscsi_module_init+0x9c/0xdc [ibmvscsi] [c0000000080121d0] do_one_initcall+0x60/0x2d0 [c000000008261abc] do_init_module+0x7c/0x320 [c000000008265700] load_module+0x2350/0x25b0 [c000000008265cb4] __do_sys_finit_module+0xd4/0x160 [c000000008031110] system_call_exception+0x150/0x2d0 [c00000000800d35c] system_call_common+0xec/0x278 Fix this be nulling shost->ehandler when the kthread fails to spawn.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2021-47337 is a Linux kernel SCSI cleanup bug that can crash the kernel during rare error handling. If a SCSI error-handler thread fails to start, cleanup may call kthread_stop() on an invalid pointer. Business impact is primarily availability risk, not confirmed data theft or remote compromise.

Executive priority

Treat as a normal-priority kernel availability fix, elevated for storage-heavy or virtualization platforms. There is no source-backed evidence of active exploitation, but kernel crashes on critical infrastructure can still create operational disruption.

Technical view

The flaw is in Linux SCSI host cleanup after scsi_host_alloc() failure handling changed. shost->ehandler may hold ERR_PTR(-ENOMEM), but scsi_host_dev_release() only checked for non-NULL before kthread_stop(), causing an invalid pointer dereference. The fix nulls shost->ehandler when kthread creation fails.

Likely exposure

Exposure is limited to Linux systems running affected kernel versions with SCSI host paths. The source lists affected Linux kernel versions including 4.9.276, 4.14.240, 4.19.198, 5.4.134, 5.10.52, 5.12.19, 5.13 through 5.13.4, and 5.14. Confirm distro backports.

Exploitation context

The bundle does not show CISA KEV listing, public exploitation, or exploit availability. The provided kernel log shows a real crash condition during ibmvscsi module probing, but that is evidence of fault behavior, not active exploitation.

Researcher notes

The key condition is an invalid ERR_PTR stored in shost->ehandler after kthread creation failure. Validation should focus on affected kernel lineage and whether the referenced stable commits are present. The source bundle provides no CVSS, CWE, or exploitability assessment.

Mitigation direction

  • Apply the relevant Linux stable or distribution kernel update containing the referenced fixes.
  • Prioritize hosts using SCSI, virtual SCSI, or storage drivers on affected kernel lines.
  • Check vendor advisories for backported fixes before relying only on upstream version numbers.
  • Schedule reboot or live-patching according to your kernel support model.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory kernel versions across Linux servers and appliances.
  • Confirm whether vendor kernel changelogs include the SCSI ehandler fix.
  • Review kernel logs for scsi_host_alloc, ehandler spawn failures, or kthread_stop oops traces.
  • Test updated kernels on representative storage workloads before production rollout.
Prepared
Confidence
high
Sources
10

Public sources used

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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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
9Source 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

CVECVE Program Container
CISA-ADPCISA ADP Vulnrichment
other:ssvc

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinux8958181c1663e24a13434448e7d6b96b5d04900a, db08ce595dd64ea9859f7d088b51cbfc8e685c66, 2dc85045ae65b9302a1d2e2ddd7ce4c030153a6a, 79296e292d67fa7b5fb8d8c27343683e823872c8, 7a696ce1d5d16a33a6cd6400bbcc0339b2460e11, 45d83db4728127944b237c0c8248987df9d478e7, 66a834d092930cf41d809c0e989b13cd6f9ca006, 66a834d092930cf41d809c0e989b13cd6f9ca006unaffected
LinuxLinux5.13, 0, 4.9.276, 4.14.240, 4.19.198, 5.4.134, 5.10.52, 5.12.19, 5.13.4, 5.14affected
Weakness

CWE details

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