LiveActive security incident?Get immediate response
CVE Record

CVE-2021-47350: powerpc/mm: Fix lockup on kernel exec fault

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: powerpc/mm: Fix lockup on kernel exec fault The powerpc kernel is not prepared to handle exec faults from kernel. Especially, the function is_exec_fault() will return 'false' when an exec fault is taken by kernel, because the check is based on reading current->thread.regs->trap which contains the trap from user. For instance, when provoking a LKDTM EXEC_USERSPACE test, current->thread.regs->trap is set to SYSCALL trap (0xc00), and the fault taken by the kernel is not seen as an exec fault by set_access_flags_filter(). Commit d7df2443cd5f ("powerpc/mm: Fix spurious segfaults on radix with autonuma") made it clear and handled it properly. But later on commit d3ca587404b3 ("powerpc/mm: Fix reporting of kernel execute faults") removed that handling, introducing test based on error_code. And here is the problem, because on the 603 all upper bits of SRR1 get cleared when the TLB instruction miss handler bails out to ISI. Until commit cbd7e6ca0210 ("powerpc/fault: Avoid heavy search_exception_tables() verification"), an exec fault from kernel at a userspace address was indirectly caught by the lack of entry for that address in the exception tables. But after that commit the kernel mainly relies on KUAP or on core mm handling to catch wrong user accesses. Here the access is not wrong, so mm handles it. It is a minor fault because PAGE_EXEC is not set, set_access_flags_filter() should set PAGE_EXEC and voila. But as is_exec_fault() returns false as explained in the beginning, set_access_flags_filter() bails out without setting PAGE_EXEC flag, which leads to a forever minor exec fault. As the kernel is not prepared to handle such exec faults, the thing to do is to fire in bad_kernel_fault() for any exec fault taken by the kernel, as it was prior to commit d3ca587404b3.

MediumCVSS 5.5Not KEV-listedUpdated
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2021-47350 is a Linux kernel issue on PowerPC where certain kernel execute faults can lead to a lockup. The documented impact is availability only, not data theft or privilege escalation. It requires local privileges, so urgency is highest for multi-user or exposed PowerPC Linux systems.

Executive priority

Treat as a moderate patching priority. It can cause denial of service on affected PowerPC Linux systems, but current sources show no remote path, no confidentiality impact, and no confirmed exploitation.

Technical view

The bug is in powerpc/mm fault handling. Kernel-origin execute faults can be misclassified because is_exec_fault() can rely on stale user trap state or unavailable SRR1 bits. The fault handler then fails to set PAGE_EXEC and can loop forever on minor exec faults. Upstream stable commits restore bad_kernel_fault() handling for kernel exec faults.

Likely exposure

Exposure appears limited to Linux systems running affected PowerPC kernels or downstream builds containing the faulty powerpc/mm behavior. The source bundle does not identify specific distributions, cloud images, appliances, or package versions.

Exploitation context

CISA KEV is false, and the supplied sources do not report active exploitation. CVSS indicates local attack vector, low complexity, low privileges, no user interaction, and high availability impact.

Researcher notes

The affected-version evidence is kernel-centric and does not map cleanly to distribution packages. Validation should focus on PowerPC builds and whether the stable commits are included or backported. Do not infer impact on non-PowerPC Linux systems from this bundle.

Mitigation direction

  • Apply vendor or upstream kernel updates containing the referenced stable fixes.
  • Prioritize PowerPC Linux hosts with untrusted local users or shared workloads.
  • Check distribution advisories for exact fixed package versions and backports.
  • Avoid relying on version strings alone where vendors backport security fixes.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory PowerPC Linux hosts and record kernel package versions and build provenance.
  • Confirm whether the relevant upstream stable fix is present or backported.
  • Review vendor advisories for CVE-2021-47350 coverage on each platform.
  • Monitor affected systems for kernel lockups tied to powerpc/mm fault handling.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
7

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

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 · low confidence lookup

CVE-2021-47350 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

Open ATT&CK lookup
Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Medium
CVSS
5.5 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

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.

1CVSS vectors
3Timeline events
2ADP providers
6Source links

SSVC decision data

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

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
5.5CVSS 3.1MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H1.83.6CISA-ADP

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

5.5Medium
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2021-47350Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

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
cvssV3_1other:ssvc
CVECVE Program Container
Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinuxd3ca587404b36943b02df87406054ce73cc49500, d3ca587404b36943b02df87406054ce73cc49500, d3ca587404b36943b02df87406054ce73cc49500, d3ca587404b36943b02df87406054ce73cc49500, d3ca587404b36943b02df87406054ce73cc49500unaffected
LinuxLinux4.14, 0, 5.4.133, 5.10.51, 5.12.18, 5.13.3, 5.14affected
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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