Linux Kernel up to 5.4.150/5.10.70/5.14.9 mac80211 hrtimer_forward_now denial of service

| CVSS Meta Temp Score | Current Exploit Price (≈) | CTI Interest Score |
|---|---|---|
| 4.4 | $0-$5k | 0.00 |
Summary
A vulnerability categorized as problematic has been discovered in Linux Kernel up to 5.4.150/5.10.70/5.14.9. The impacted element is the function hrtimer_forward_now of the component mac80211. Such manipulation leads to denial of service.
This vulnerability is listed as CVE-2021-47396. There is no available exploit.
It is advisable to upgrade the affected component.
Details
A vulnerability, which was classified as problematic, has been found in Linux Kernel up to 5.4.150/5.10.70/5.14.9. Affected by this issue is the function hrtimer_forward_now of the component mac80211. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a denial of service vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-404. The product does not release or incorrectly releases a resource before it is made available for re-use. Impacted is availability. CVE summarizes:
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mac80211-hwsim: fix late beacon hrtimer handling Thomas explained in https://lore.kernel.org/r/87mtoeb4hb.ffs@tglx that our handling of the hrtimer here is wrong: If the timer fires late (e.g. due to vCPU scheduling, as reported by Dmitry/syzbot) then it tries to actually rearm the timer at the next deadline, which might be in the past already: 1 2 3 N N+1 | | | ... | | ^ intended to fire here (1) ^ next deadline here (2) ^ actually fired here The next time it fires, it's later, but will still try to schedule for the next deadline (now 3), etc. until it catches up with N, but that might take a long time, causing stalls etc. Now, all of this is simulation, so we just have to fix it, but note that the behaviour is wrong even per spec, since there's no value then in sending all those beacons unaligned - they should be aligned to the TBTT (1, 2, 3, ... in the picture), and if we're a bit (or a lot) late, then just resume at that point. Therefore, change the code to use hrtimer_forward_now() which will ensure that the next firing of the timer would be at N+1 (in the picture), i.e. the next interval point after the current time.
The advisory is shared for download at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2021-47396. There are known technical details, but no exploit is available.
Upgrading to version 5.4.151, 5.10.71 or 5.14.10 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 9bee85de2c81/2c204cf594df/ed2adf69e298/313bbd1990b6 is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.
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Product
Type
Vendor
Name
Version
- 5.4.150
- 5.10.0
- 5.10.1
- 5.10.2
- 5.10.3
- 5.10.4
- 5.10.5
- 5.10.6
- 5.10.7
- 5.10.8
- 5.10.9
- 5.10.10
- 5.10.11
- 5.10.12
- 5.10.13
- 5.10.14
- 5.10.15
- 5.10.16
- 5.10.17
- 5.10.18
- 5.10.19
- 5.10.20
- 5.10.21
- 5.10.22
- 5.10.23
- 5.10.24
- 5.10.25
- 5.10.26
- 5.10.27
- 5.10.28
- 5.10.29
- 5.10.30
- 5.10.31
- 5.10.32
- 5.10.33
- 5.10.34
- 5.10.35
- 5.10.36
- 5.10.37
- 5.10.38
- 5.10.39
- 5.10.40
- 5.10.41
- 5.10.42
- 5.10.43
- 5.10.44
- 5.10.45
- 5.10.46
- 5.10.47
- 5.10.48
- 5.10.49
- 5.10.50
- 5.10.51
- 5.10.52
- 5.10.53
- 5.10.54
- 5.10.55
- 5.10.56
- 5.10.57
- 5.10.58
- 5.10.59
- 5.10.60
- 5.10.61
- 5.10.62
- 5.10.63
- 5.10.64
- 5.10.65
- 5.10.66
- 5.10.67
- 5.10.68
- 5.10.69
- 5.10.70
- 5.14.0
- 5.14.1
- 5.14.2
- 5.14.3
- 5.14.4
- 5.14.5
- 5.14.6
- 5.14.7
- 5.14.8
- 5.14.9
License
Website
- Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/
CPE 2.3
CPE 2.2
CVSSv4
VulDB Vector: 🔍VulDB Reliability: 🔍
CVSSv3
VulDB Meta Base Score: 4.5VulDB Meta Temp Score: 4.4
VulDB Base Score: 3.5
VulDB Temp Score: 3.4
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍
NVD Base Score: 5.5
NVD Vector: 🔍
CVSSv2
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VulDB Base Score: 🔍
VulDB Temp Score: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍
Exploiting
Class: Denial of serviceCWE: CWE-404
CAPEC: 🔍
ATT&CK: 🔍
Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: Partially
Availability: 🔍
Status: Not defined
EPSS Score: 🔍
EPSS Percentile: 🔍
Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔍
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Threat Intelligence
Interest: 🔍Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍
Countermeasures
Recommended: UpgradeStatus: 🔍
0-Day Time: 🔍
Upgrade: Kernel 5.4.151/5.10.71/5.14.10
Patch: 9bee85de2c81/2c204cf594df/ed2adf69e298/313bbd1990b6
Timeline
05/21/2024 🔍05/21/2024 🔍
09/25/2025 🔍
Sources
Vendor: kernel.orgAdvisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed
CVE: CVE-2021-47396 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2021-47396
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-265448
Entry
Created: 05/21/2024 17:50Updated: 09/25/2025 18:28
Changes: 05/21/2024 17:50 (57), 09/25/2025 18:28 (13)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103
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