CVE-2021-47225

mac80211: fix deadlock in AP/VLAN handling

MEDIUM
5.5
CVSS Score
Published: May 21, 2024 at 02:19 PM UTC
Updated: June 17, 2026 at 04:16 AM UTC
1 product affected across 1 vendorLinux Kernel

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Severity
MEDIUM5.5
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.1%
SSVC
No known exploit

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mac80211: fix deadlock in AP/VLAN handling Syzbot reports that when you have AP_VLAN interfaces that are up and close the AP interface they belong to, we get a deadlock. No surprise - since we dev_close() them with the wiphy mutex held, which goes back into the netdev notifier in cfg80211 and tries to acquire the wiphy mutex there. To fix this, we need to do two things: 1) prevent changing iftype while AP_VLANs are up, we can't easily fix this case since cfg80211 already calls us with the wiphy mutex held, but change_interface() is relatively rare in drivers anyway, so changing iftype isn't used much (and userspace has to fall back to down/change/up anyway) 2) pull the dev_close() loop over VLANs out of the wiphy mutex section in the normal stop case

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

5.12 ≤ v < 5.12.135.12 ≤ v < 5.135.13 rc15.13 rc25.13 rc35.13 rc45.13 rc55.13 rc6a05829a7222e9d10c416dd2dbbf3929fe6646b89
Vendor states this is fixed in 8043903fcb72f545c52e3ec74d6fd82ef79ce7c5 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in d5befb224edbe53056c2c18999d630dafb4a08b9 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 5.12 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 5.12.13 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 5.13 (unaffected)

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet. What the record does show:

References (2)

Patch
Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8043903fcb72f545c52e3ec74d6fd82ef79ce7c5
Patch
Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d5befb224edbe53056c2c18999d630dafb4a08b9

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCNo known exploitNot automatablePartial impact

SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.

CVSS

5.5MEDIUMCISA-ADP
Attack Vector
LOCAL
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
LOW
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
NONE
Integrity
NONE
Availability
HIGH
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusANALYZED
CWE
CWE-667

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