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CVE Record

CVE-2021-47434: xhci: Fix command ring pointer corruption while aborting a command

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: xhci: Fix command ring pointer corruption while aborting a command The command ring pointer is located at [6:63] bits of the command ring control register (CRCR). All the control bits like command stop, abort are located at [0:3] bits. While aborting a command, we read the CRCR and set the abort bit and write to the CRCR. The read will always give command ring pointer as all zeros. So we essentially write only the control bits. Since we split the 64 bit write into two 32 bit writes, there is a possibility of xHC command ring stopped before the upper dword (all zeros) is written. If that happens, xHC updates the upper dword of its internal command ring pointer with all zeros. Next time, when the command ring is restarted, we see xHC memory access failures. Fix this issue by only writing to the lower dword of CRCR where all control bits are located.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysisunknown

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

This Linux kernel issue can corrupt the USB xHCI controller command-ring pointer during command abort handling. The reported result is xHCI memory access failures when the command ring restarts. The public record does not provide CVSS, confirmed exploitability, or business impact beyond kernel/USB reliability risk.

Executive priority

Handle through normal kernel patch governance unless affected systems are operationally dependent on USB/xHCI stability. There is no provided evidence of active exploitation, but kernel reliability issues can still disrupt critical hosts.

Technical view

The bug is in xHCI CRCR handling. During command abort, code wrote a 64-bit CRCR value where the command-ring pointer bits read back as zero. A split 32-bit write could let the controller capture a zeroed upper pointer. The fix writes only the lower dword containing control bits.

Likely exposure

Exposure appears limited to Linux systems running affected kernel versions or commits listed in the CVE record, especially systems using xHCI USB controller paths. The source data does not identify distributions, appliances, cloud images, or packaged kernels by name.

Exploitation context

The CVE is not listed as KEV in the provided bundle. No cited source states active exploitation, public exploit availability, or a remote attack path. Treat it as a kernel reliability and potential availability concern until vendor advisories provide sharper severity guidance.

Researcher notes

Key uncertainty is impact severity. The record describes pointer corruption and xHCI memory access failures, but does not provide CVSS, CWE, attacker prerequisites, or exploit status. Validate exposure through kernel source/package provenance rather than raw upstream version strings alone.

Mitigation direction

  • Apply a vendor kernel update containing the cited stable Linux fixes.
  • Check Linux distribution advisories for backported patches before assuming version numbers are safe.
  • Prioritize systems where USB/xHCI reliability affects operations or recovery workflows.
  • Schedule kernel maintenance for affected assets once vendor guidance is confirmed.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory running Linux kernel versions across managed systems.
  • Compare kernels against the CVE record and distribution-specific backport advisories.
  • Confirm the relevant stable fix is present in the running kernel package.
  • Review kernel logs for recurring xHCI memory access failures.
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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ATT&CK lookup starting points

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CVE-2021-47434 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
LinuxLinuxb92cc66c047ff7cf587b318fe377061a353c120f, b92cc66c047ff7cf587b318fe377061a353c120f, b92cc66c047ff7cf587b318fe377061a353c120f, b92cc66c047ff7cf587b318fe377061a353c120f, b92cc66c047ff7cf587b318fe377061a353c120f, b92cc66c047ff7cf587b318fe377061a353c120f, bc47204b268516ae4085ebdc81a34ddda71b77c4, 88bd928daafb5912c269af628b1e5347620c9a62, 2818247b6565b7adfbcd53b74509448a8e1fad84, ef6273930e170a4f70a2c7f57a214813c5cf30bb, f83994f3e2438b982fb9821d948199b3327638d8unaffected
LinuxLinux3.7, 0, 4.14.252, 4.19.213, 5.4.155, 5.10.75, 5.14.14, 5.15affected
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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