Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2021-47304

medium Nessus Plugin ID 249757

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Synopsis

The Linux/Unix host has one or more packages installed with a vulnerability that the vendor indicates will not be patched.

Description

The Linux/Unix host has one or more packages installed that are impacted by a vulnerability without a vendor supplied patch available.

- In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tcp: fix tcp_init_transfer() to not reset icsk_ca_initialized This commit fixes a bug (found by syzkaller) that could cause spurious double- initializations for congestion control modules, which could cause memory leaks or other problems for congestion control modules (like CDG) that allocate memory in their init functions. The buggy scenario constructed by syzkaller was something like: (1) create a TCP socket (2) initiate a TFO connect via sendto() (3) while socket is in TCP_SYN_SENT, call setsockopt(TCP_CONGESTION), which calls:
tcp_set_congestion_control() -> tcp_reinit_congestion_control() -> tcp_init_congestion_control() (4) receive ACK, connection is established, call tcp_init_transfer(), set icsk_ca_initialized=0 (without first calling cc->release()), call tcp_init_congestion_control() again. Note that in this sequence tcp_init_congestion_control() is called twice without a cc->release() call in between. Thus, for CC modules that allocate memory in their init() function, e.g, CDG, a memory leak may occur. The syzkaller tool managed to find a reproducer that triggered such a leak in CDG. The bug was introduced when that commit 8919a9b31eb4 (tcp: Only init congestion control if not initialized already) introduced icsk_ca_initialized and set icsk_ca_initialized to 0 in tcp_init_transfer(), missing the possibility for a sequence like the one above, where a process could call setsockopt(TCP_CONGESTION) in state TCP_SYN_SENT (i.e. after the connect() or TFO open sendmsg()), which would call tcp_init_congestion_control(). It did not intend to reset any initialization that the user had already explicitly made; it just missed the possibility of that particular sequence (which syzkaller managed to find). (CVE-2021-47304)

Note that Nessus relies on the presence of the package as reported by the vendor.

Solution

There is no known solution at this time.

Plugin Details

Severity: Medium

ID: 249757

File Name: unpatched_CVE_2021_47304.nasl

Version: 1.1

Type: local

Agent: unix

Family: Misc.

Published: 8/15/2025

Updated: 8/15/2025

Supported Sensors: Frictionless Assessment AWS, Frictionless Assessment Azure, Frictionless Assessment Agent, Nessus Agent, Agentless Assessment, Nessus

Risk Information

VPR

Risk Factor: Medium

Score: 4.4

CVSS v2

Risk Factor: High

Base Score: 7.8

Temporal Score: 5.8

Vector: CVSS2#AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C

CVSS Score Source: CVE-2021-47304

CVSS v3

Risk Factor: Medium

Base Score: 5.5

Temporal Score: 4.8

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Temporal Vector: CVSS:3.0/E:U/RL:O/RC:C

Vulnerability Information

CPE: p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-hwe, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-intel-5.13, cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:16.04:-:lts, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-oracle-5.3, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-hwe-edge, cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:22.04:-:lts, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-gcp-5.19, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-azure-5.19, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-riscv-5.11, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-riscv, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.19, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-oracle-5.0, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-oracle-5.13, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.2, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-gcp-5.11, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-gke-5.15, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-oem-5.17, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-gcp, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-aws-5.11, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-aws-5.3, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-azure-edge, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-azure-fde, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-aws-5.8, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-nvidia-6.2, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-aws-5.0, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-oem-5.13, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-aws-6.2, cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:18.04:-:lts, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-gkeop-5.4, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-oem, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-hwe-6.2, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-hwe-5.11, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-allwinner-5.19, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-aws-5.19, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-aws-5.13, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-gke, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-riscv-5.8, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-starfive-5.19, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-gcp-5.3, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-azure, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-gcp-6.2, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-azure-6.2, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-azure-5.11, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-oem-5.10, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-oem-6.0, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-azure-5.3, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-azure-5.8, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-hwe-5.19, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-raspi2, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-gke-5.4, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-gke-4.15, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-oracle-5.8, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-hwe-5.13, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-riscv-5.19, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-starfive-6.2, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-gcp-5.8, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-oem-5.6, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-hwe-5.8, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-gcp-5.13, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-oracle-5.11, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-oem-6.1, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-azure-5.13, cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:20.04:-:lts, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-oem-5.14, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-azure-fde-5.19, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-azure-fde-6.2

Required KB Items: Host/local_checks_enabled, Host/cpu, global_settings/vendor_unpatched, Host/OS/identifier

Exploit Ease: No known exploits are available

Vulnerability Publication Date: 1/28/2022

Reference Information

CVE: CVE-2021-47304

Detections

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