CVE-2021-47639 | KVM: x86/mmu: Zap _all_ roots when unmapping gfn range in TDP MMU

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: x86/mmu: Zap _all_ roots when unmapping gfn range in TDP MMU Zap both valid and invalid roots when zapping/unmapping a gfn range, as KVM must ensure it holds no references to the freed page after returning from the unmap operation. Most notably, the TDP MMU doesn't zap invalid roots in mmu_notifier callbacks. This leads to use-after-free and other issues if the mmu_notifier runs to completion while an invalid root zapper yields as KVM fails to honor the requirement that there must be _no_ references to the page after the mmu_notifier returns. The bug is most easily reproduced by hacking KVM to cause a collision between set_nx_huge_pages() and kvm_mmu_notifier_release(), but the bug exists between kvm_mmu_notifier_invalidate_range_start() and memslot updates as well. Invalidating a root ensures pages aren't accessible by the guest, and KVM won't read or write page data itself, but KVM will trigger e.g. kvm_set_pfn_dirty() when zapping SPTEs, and thus completing a zap of an invalid root _after_ the mmu_notifier returns is fatal. WARNING: CPU: 24 PID: 1496 at arch/x86/kvm/../../../virt/kvm/kvm_main.c:173 [kvm] RIP: 0010:kvm_is_zone_device_pfn+0x96/0xa0 [kvm] Call Trace: <TASK> kvm_set_pfn_dirty+0xa8/0xe0 [kvm] __handle_changed_spte+0x2ab/0x5e0 [kvm] __handle_changed_spte+0x2ab/0x5e0 [kvm] __handle_changed_spte+0x2ab/0x5e0 [kvm] zap_gfn_range+0x1f3/0x310 [kvm] kvm_tdp_mmu_zap_invalidated_roots+0x50/0x90 [kvm] kvm_mmu_zap_all_fast+0x177/0x1a0 [kvm] set_nx_huge_pages+0xb4/0x190 [kvm] param_attr_store+0x70/0x100 module_attr_store+0x19/0x30 kernfs_fop_write_iter+0x119/0x1b0 new_sync_write+0x11c/0x1b0 vfs_write+0x1cc/0x270 ksys_write+0x5f/0xe0 do_syscall_64+0x38/0xc0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xae </TASK>

Published: 2025-02-26 Last update: 2025-03-24 Assigner: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2021-47639 is rated Low Risk (32.9/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.02%). 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-2021-47639

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 2026-04-11 0.09% 0.02% -0.07%
2 2026-04-06 0.03% 0.09% +0.06%
3 2025-11-21 0.03%

Full EPSS history (5 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2021-47639

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
1.8 5.9 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2021-47639

OS Trackers for CVE-2021-47639

vendor priority summary link
debian unimportant CVE-2021-47639 unimportant 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-2021-47639
redhat low https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2021-47639
suse medium https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2021-47639/
ubuntu medium CVE-2021-47639 medium priority: Ubuntu including 130 source packages (linux, linux-allwinner-5.19, …), 1040 status rows across 8 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, oracular, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 713, ignored 146, not-affected 101, released 80. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2021-47639

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-47639

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
linux linux_kernel >= 5.13, < 5.15.33 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.16, < 5.16.19 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.17, < 5.17.2 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2021-47639

cvelogic Threat Intelligence