CVE-2021-47159

A vulnerability was discovered in the Linux kernel’s DSA (Distributed Switch Architecture) module, specifically when handling failures in the get_sset_count() function pointer. If this function fails, causing an error code like -EOPNOTSUPP, it results in an unsigned int variable ‘i’ being type-promoted to a large value. Subsequently, this can lead to memory corruption and system crashes due to uncontrolled loop behavior. The issue was addressed by implementing error code checks and converting ‘i’ to an int type to prevent such memory corruption scenarios.

Mitigation

Red Hat has investigated whether a possible mitigation exists for this issue, and has not been able to identify a practical example. Please update the affected package as soon as possible.