LiveActive security incident?Get immediate response
CVE Record

CVE-2021-47653: media: davinci: vpif: fix use-after-free on driver unbind

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: media: davinci: vpif: fix use-after-free on driver unbind The driver allocates and registers two platform device structures during probe, but the devices were never deregistered on driver unbind. This results in a use-after-free on driver unbind as the device structures were allocated using devres and would be freed by driver core when remove() returns. Fix this by adding the missing deregistration calls to the remove() callback and failing probe on registration errors. Note that the platform device structures must be freed using a proper release callback to avoid leaking associated resources like device names.

HighCVSS 7.8Not KEV-listedUpdated
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysishigh

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2021-47653 is a Linux kernel use-after-free in the DaVinci VPIF media driver during driver unbind. It is rated high because local low-privileged access could potentially affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Business urgency is highest for Linux systems that include and use this specific media driver or affected embedded hardware paths.

Executive priority

Treat as a targeted high-priority kernel maintenance issue, not a broad internet-facing emergency. Patch affected Linux systems where this driver is present, especially embedded devices with long update cycles. Ask asset owners to confirm whether DaVinci VPIF functionality exists in your environment.

Technical view

The VPIF driver allocates and registers two platform devices during probe but failed to deregister them on remove. Because the structures were devres-managed, driver core could free them after remove, leaving registered device references and causing use-after-free on unbind. The kernel fix adds deregistration in remove, handles registration errors, and uses a proper release callback.

Likely exposure

Exposure appears limited to affected Linux kernel versions with the media davinci VPIF driver present and reachable, especially embedded or media-focused systems using DaVinci VPIF functionality. The CVSS vector is local, low complexity, low privileges, and no user interaction. Systems without this driver or hardware path are less likely to be exposed.

Exploitation context

The provided sources do not report active exploitation, and the CVE is not marked KEV. Exploitation would require local access with low privileges and the ability to trigger relevant driver unbind behavior. No public exploit details are provided in the source bundle.

Researcher notes

Key evidence is the upstream Linux fix description and stable commit references. The issue is CWE-416 use-after-free on driver unbind. Affected version data in the bundle is broad and somewhat commit-oriented, so confirm exposure through kernel source, configuration, module presence, and vendor backports.

Mitigation direction

  • Apply kernel updates that include the referenced stable fixes for CVE-2021-47653.
  • Check Linux distribution or device vendor advisories for backported fixes.
  • Prioritize systems using DaVinci VPIF or related media/embedded functionality.
  • If unused, consider vendor-supported removal or disabling of the affected driver.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Linux kernel versions against vendor-fixed builds or referenced stable commits.
  • Confirm whether the davinci VPIF media driver is built, loaded, or used.
  • Review vendor kernel changelogs for CVE-2021-47653 or the referenced commits.
  • Test updates on representative embedded or media systems before production rollout.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
6

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.

cwe · low confidence lookup

CWE-416: Exact CWE lookup

Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.

Open ATT&CK lookup
cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2021-47653 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
High
CVSS
7.8 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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
1ADP providers
5Source links

SSVC decision data

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

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
7.8CVSS 3.1HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H1.85.9CISA-ADP

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

7.8High
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2021-47653Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

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

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinux479f7a1181058689435baddc16a6a42e1a8ff0e8, 479f7a1181058689435baddc16a6a42e1a8ff0e8, 479f7a1181058689435baddc16a6a42e1a8ff0e8, 479f7a1181058689435baddc16a6a42e1a8ff0e8unaffected
LinuxLinux4.13, 0, 5.15.54, 5.16.19, 5.17.2, 5.18affected
Weakness

CWE details

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

CWE-416 · source CWE mapping

Use After Free

Use After Free represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.