CVE-2021-46959: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-p64f-v3w3-f3gw
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CVSS 7.8
CWE-416
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-46959 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.8) security vulnerability vulnerability (CWE-416: Use After Free) affecting Software libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The weakness occurs when the product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. at some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2021-46959 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-46959
GHSA Identifier GHSA-p64f-v3w3-f3gw
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.8
CWE Classification CWE-416: Use After Free
Affected Product Software
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.8

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Local (AV:L)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required Low (PR:L)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2021-46959

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Software dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

mvn dependency:tree

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2021-46959, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Software in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than the patched release), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-416: Use After Free, where the product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. at some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer. In Software, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: spi: Fix use-after-free with devm_spi_alloc_* We can't rely on the contents of the devres list during spi_unregister_controller(), as the list is already torn down at the time we perform devres_find() for devm_spi_release_controller. This causes devices registered with devm_spi_alloc_{master,slave}() to be mistakenly identified as legacy, non-devm managed devices and have their reference counters decremented below 0. ------------[ cut here ]------------ WARNING: CPU: 1 PID: 660 at lib/refcount.c:28 refcount_warn_saturate+0x108/0x174 [<b0396f04>] (refcount_warn_saturate) from [<b03c56a4>] (kobject_put+0x90/0x98) [<b03c5614>] (kobject_put) from [<b0447b4c>] (put_device+0x20/0x24) r4:b6700140 [<b0447b2c>] (put_device) from [<b07515e8>] (devm_spi_release_controller+0x3c/0x40) [<b07515ac>] (devm_spi_release_controller) from [<b045343c>] (release_nodes+0x84/0xc4) r5:b6700180 r4:b6700100 [<b04533b8>] (release_nodes) from [<b0454160>] (devres_release_all+0x5c/0x60) r8:b1638c54 r7:b117ad94 r6:b1638c10 r5:b117ad94 r4:b163dc10 [<b0454104>] (devres_release_all) from [<b044e41c>] (__device_release_driver+0x144/0x1ec) r5:b117ad94 r4:b163dc10 [<b044e2d8>] (__device_release_driver) from [<b044f70c>] (device_driver_detach+0x84/0xa0) r9:00000000 r8:00000000 r7:b117ad94 r6:b163dc54 r5:b1638c10 r4:b163dc10 [<b044f688>] (device_driver_detach) from [<b044d274>] (unbind_store+0xe4/0xf8) Instead, determine the devm allocation state as a flag on the controller which is guaranteed to be stable during cleanup.

References

NVD — CVE-2021-46959 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-46959
git.kernel.org/stable/c/001c8e8364... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/001c8e83646ad3b847b18f6ac55a54367d917d74
git.kernel.org/stable/c/28a5529068... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/28a5529068c51cdf0295ab1e11a99a3a909a03e4
git.kernel.org/stable/c/62bb2c7f24... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/62bb2c7f2411a0045c24831f11ecacfc35610815
git.kernel.org/stable/c/794aaf0144... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/794aaf01444d4e765e2b067cba01cc69c1c68ed9
git.kernel.org/stable/c/8735248ebb... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8735248ebb918d25427965f0db07939ed0473ec6
git.kernel.org/stable/c/8bf96425c9... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8bf96425c90f5c1dcf3b7b9df568019a1d4b8a0e
git.kernel.org/stable/c/8e029707f5... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8e029707f50a82c53172359c686b2536ab54e58c
git.kernel.org/stable/c/c7fabe372a... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c7fabe372a9031acd00498bc718ce27c253abfd1
git.kernel.org/stable/c/cee78aa245... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cee78aa24578edac8cf00513dca618c0acc17cd7

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-46959?
CVE-2021-46959 is a security vulnerability in Software classified as a security vulnerability vulnerability under CWE-416: Use After Free.
Which Software versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches.
What version fixes CVE-2021-46959?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-46959?
CVE-2021-46959 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2021-46959?
CVE-2021-46959 is classified under CWE-416: Use After Free (The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2021-46959?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
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  "id" : "GHSA-p64f-v3w3-f3gw",
  "modified" : "2024-12-10T18:31:06Z",
  "published" : "2024-03-01T00:30:26Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-46959" ],
  "details" : "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nspi: Fix use-after-free with devm_spi_alloc_*\n\nWe can't rely on the contents of the devres list during\nspi_unregister_controller(), as the list is already torn down at the\ntime we perform devres_find() for devm_spi_release_controller. This\ncauses devices registered with devm_spi_alloc_{master,slave}() to be\nmistakenly identified as legacy, non-devm managed devices and have their\nreference counters decremented below 0.\n\n------------[ cut here ]------------\nWARNING: CPU: 1 PID: 660 at lib/refcount.c:28 refcount_warn_saturate+0x108/0x174\n[<b0396f04>] (refcount_warn_saturate) from [<b03c56a4>] (kobject_put+0x90/0x98)\n[<b03c5614>] (kobject_put) from [<b0447b4c>] (put_device+0x20/0x24)\n r4:b6700140\n[<b0447b2c>] (put_device) from [<b07515e8>] (devm_spi_release_controller+0x3c/0x40)\n[<b07515ac>] (devm_spi_release_controller) from [<b045343c>] (release_nodes+0x84/0xc4)\n r5:b6700180 r4:b6700100\n[<b04533b8>] (release_nodes) from [<b0454160>] (devres_release_all+0x5c/0x60)\n r8:b1638c54 r7:b117ad94 r6:b1638c10 r5:b117ad94 r4:b163dc10\n[<b0454104>] (devres_release_all) from [<b044e41c>] (__device_release_driver+0x144/0x1ec)\n r5:b117ad94 r4:b163dc10\n[<b044e2d8>] (__device_release_driver) from [<b044f70c>] (device_driver_detach+0x84/0xa0)\n r9:00000000 r8:00000000 r7:b117ad94 r6:b163dc54 r5:b1638c10 r4:b163dc10\n[<b044f688>] (device_driver_detach) from [<b044d274>] (unbind_store+0xe4/0xf8)\n\nInstead, determine the devm allocation state as a flag on the\ncontroller which is guaranteed to be stable during cleanup.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ ],
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    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/001c8e83646ad3b847b18f6ac55a54367d917d74"
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    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/28a5529068c51cdf0295ab1e11a99a3a909a03e4"
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    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/794aaf01444d4e765e2b067cba01cc69c1c68ed9"
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  "database_specific" : {
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    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2024-02-29T23:15:07Z"
  }
}