Linux Kernel up to 5.10.78/5.14.17/5.15.1 hal_init.c rtl8712_dl_fw use after free

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical has been found in Linux Kernel up to 5.10.78/5.14.17/5.15.1. The affected element is the function rtl8712_dl_fw of the file drivers/staging/rtl8712/hal_init.c. Performing a manipulation results in use after free. This vulnerability is reported as CVE-2021-47479. No exploit exists. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical has been found in Linux Kernel up to 5.10.78/5.14.17/5.15.1. This affects the function rtl8712_dl_fw of the file drivers/staging/rtl8712/hal_init.c. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. This is going to have an impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: staging: rtl8712: fix use-after-free in rtl8712_dl_fw Syzbot reported use-after-free in rtl8712_dl_fw(). The problem was in race condition between r871xu_dev_remove() ->ndo_open() callback. It's easy to see from crash log, that driver accesses released firmware in ->ndo_open() callback. It may happen, since driver was releasing firmware _before_ unregistering netdev. Fix it by moving unregister_netdev() before cleaning up resources. Call Trace: ... rtl871x_open_fw drivers/staging/rtl8712/hal_init.c:83 [inline] rtl8712_dl_fw+0xd95/0xe10 drivers/staging/rtl8712/hal_init.c:170 rtl8712_hal_init drivers/staging/rtl8712/hal_init.c:330 [inline] rtl871x_hal_init+0xae/0x180 drivers/staging/rtl8712/hal_init.c:394 netdev_open+0xe6/0x6c0 drivers/staging/rtl8712/os_intfs.c:380 __dev_open+0x2bc/0x4d0 net/core/dev.c:1484 Freed by task 1306: ... release_firmware+0x1b/0x30 drivers/base/firmware_loader/main.c:1053 r871xu_dev_remove+0xcc/0x2c0 drivers/staging/rtl8712/usb_intf.c:599 usb_unbind_interface+0x1d8/0x8d0 drivers/usb/core/driver.c:458

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2021-47479 since 05/22/2024. The exploitability is told to be difficult. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 11/22/2025).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 276407 (TencentOS Server 4: kernel (TSSA-2025:0047)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 5.10.79, 5.14.18 or 5.15.2 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch c430094541a8/befd23bd3b17/a65c9afe9f2f/c052cc1a069c 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.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at Tenable (276407). Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 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
• 5.10.71
• 5.10.72
• 5.10.73
• 5.10.74
• 5.10.75
• 5.10.76
• 5.10.77
• 5.10.78
• 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
• 5.14.10
• 5.14.11
• 5.14.12
• 5.14.13
• 5.14.14
• 5.14.15
• 5.14.16
• 5.14.17
• 5.15.0
• 5.15.1

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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Exploitinginfo

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Entryinfo

Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

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