CVE-2021-46939 | tracing: Restructure trace_clock_global() to never block

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tracing: Restructure trace_clock_global() to never block It was reported that a fix to the ring buffer recursion detection would cause a hung machine when performing suspend / resume testing. The following backtrace was extracted from debugging that case: Call Trace: trace_clock_global+0x91/0xa0 __rb_reserve_next+0x237/0x460 ring_buffer_lock_reserve+0x12a/0x3f0 trace_buffer_lock_reserve+0x10/0x50 __trace_graph_return+0x1f/0x80 trace_graph_return+0xb7/0xf0 ? trace_clock_global+0x91/0xa0 ftrace_return_to_handler+0x8b/0xf0 ? pv_hash+0xa0/0xa0 return_to_handler+0x15/0x30 ? ftrace_graph_caller+0xa0/0xa0 ? trace_clock_global+0x91/0xa0 ? __rb_reserve_next+0x237/0x460 ? ring_buffer_lock_reserve+0x12a/0x3f0 ? trace_event_buffer_lock_reserve+0x3c/0x120 ? trace_event_buffer_reserve+0x6b/0xc0 ? trace_event_raw_event_device_pm_callback_start+0x125/0x2d0 ? dpm_run_callback+0x3b/0xc0 ? pm_ops_is_empty+0x50/0x50 ? platform_get_irq_byname_optional+0x90/0x90 ? trace_device_pm_callback_start+0x82/0xd0 ? dpm_run_callback+0x49/0xc0 With the following RIP: RIP: 0010:native_queued_spin_lock_slowpath+0x69/0x200 Since the fix to the recursion detection would allow a single recursion to happen while tracing, this lead to the trace_clock_global() taking a spin lock and then trying to take it again: ring_buffer_lock_reserve() { trace_clock_global() { arch_spin_lock() { queued_spin_lock_slowpath() { /* lock taken */ (something else gets traced by function graph tracer) ring_buffer_lock_reserve() { trace_clock_global() { arch_spin_lock() { queued_spin_lock_slowpath() { /* DEAD LOCK! */ Tracing should *never* block, as it can lead to strange lockups like the above. Restructure the trace_clock_global() code to instead of simply taking a lock to update the recorded "prev_time" simply use it, as two events happening on two different CPUs that calls this at the same time, really doesn't matter which one goes first. Use a trylock to grab the lock for updating the prev_time, and if it fails, simply try again the next time. If it failed to be taken, that means something else is already updating it. Bugzilla: https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=212761

Published: 2024-02-27 Last update: 2025-04-22 Assigner: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2021-46939 is rated Low Risk (27.7/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.25%). Mandatory action: Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2021-46939

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 0.01% 0.25% +0.24%
2 2025-11-21 0.09% 0.01% -0.08%
3 2025-11-18 0.09%

Full EPSS history (6 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2021-46939

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
5.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
1.8 3.6 [email protected]
5.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
1.8 3.6 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2021-46939

OS Trackers for CVE-2021-46939

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2021-46939 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (linux), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2021-46939
redhat medium https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2021-46939
suse medium https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2021-46939/
ubuntu medium CVE-2021-46939 medium priority: Ubuntu including 166 source packages (linux, linux-allwinner-5.19, …), 1752 status rows across 11 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, mantic, noble, oracular, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 1320, not-affected 148, released 146, ignored 138. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2021-46939

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-46939

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
linux linux_kernel >= 2.6.30, < 4.4.269 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 4.5.0, < 4.9.269 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 4.10.0, < 4.14.233 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 4.15.0, < 4.19.191 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 4.20.0, < 5.4.118 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.5.0, < 5.10.36 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.11.0, < 5.11.20 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.12.0, < 5.12.3 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2021-46939

cvelogic Threat Intelligence