---
id: CVE-2021-46929
title: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  sctp: use call_rcu to free endpoint

  This patch is to delay the endpoint free by calling call_rcu() to fix
  another use-after-free issue in sctp_sock_dump():

    BUG: KAS…
summary: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  sctp: use call_rcu to free endpoint

  This patch is to delay the endpoint free by calling call_rcu() to fix
  another use-after-free issue in sctp_sock_dump():

    BUG: KAS…
severity: high
cvss: 7.8
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'
cwe:
  - CWE-416
vendor: linux
product: linux_kernel
affected:
  - 'linux_kernel >= 4.14.0, < 4.14.261'
  - 'linux_kernel >= 4.15.0, < 4.19.224'
  - 'linux_kernel >= 4.20.0, < 5.4.170'
  - 'linux_kernel >= 5.5.0, < 5.10.90'
  - 'linux_kernel >= 5.11.0, < 5.15.13'
patched:
  - linux_kernel 5.15.13
published: '2024-02-27'
updated: '2026-08-04'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-46929'
references:
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5ec7d18d1813a5bead0b495045606c93873aecbb'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/75799e71df1da11394740b43ae5686646179561d'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/769d14abd35e0e153b5149c3e1e989a9d719e3ff'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/831de271452b87657fcf8d715ee20519b79caef5'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8873140f95d4977bf37e4cf0d5c5e3f6e34cdd3e'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/af6e6e58f7ebf86b4e7201694b1e4f3a62cbc3ec'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5ec7d18d1813a5bead0b495045606c93873aecbb'
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/75799e71df1da11394740b43ae5686646179561d'
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/769d14abd35e0e153b5149c3e1e989a9d719e3ff'
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/831de271452b87657fcf8d715ee20519b79caef5'
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8873140f95d4977bf37e4cf0d5c5e3f6e34cdd3e'
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/af6e6e58f7ebf86b4e7201694b1e4f3a62cbc3ec'
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
tags:
  - nvd
epss: 0.0026
epssPercentile: 0.158
ingestedAt: '2026-08-04T10:39:38.374Z'
---

## Overview

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

sctp: use call_rcu to free endpoint

This patch is to delay the endpoint free by calling call_rcu() to fix
another use-after-free issue in sctp_sock_dump():

  BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in __lock_acquire+0x36d9/0x4c20
  Call Trace:
    __lock_acquire+0x36d9/0x4c20 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:3218
    lock_acquire+0x1ed/0x520 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:3844
    __raw_spin_lock_bh include/linux/spinlock_api_smp.h:135 [inline]
    _raw_spin_lock_bh+0x31/0x40 kernel/locking/spinlock.c:168
    spin_lock_bh include/linux/spinlock.h:334 [inline]
    __lock_sock+0x203/0x350 net/core/sock.c:2253
    lock_sock_nested+0xfe/0x120 net/core/sock.c:2774
    lock_sock include/net/sock.h:1492 [inline]
    sctp_sock_dump+0x122/0xb20 net/sctp/diag.c:324
    sctp_for_each_transport+0x2b5/0x370 net/sctp/socket.c:5091
    sctp_diag_dump+0x3ac/0x660 net/sctp/diag.c:527
    __inet_diag_dump+0xa8/0x140 net/ipv4/inet_diag.c:1049
    inet_diag_dump+0x9b/0x110 net/ipv4/inet_diag.c:1065
    netlink_dump+0x606/0x1080 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:2244
    __netlink_dump_start+0x59a/0x7c0 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:2352
    netlink_dump_start include/linux/netlink.h:216 [inline]
    inet_diag_handler_cmd+0x2ce/0x3f0 net/ipv4/inet_diag.c:1170
    __sock_diag_cmd net/core/sock_diag.c:232 [inline]
    sock_diag_rcv_msg+0x31d/0x410 net/core/sock_diag.c:263
    netlink_rcv_skb+0x172/0x440 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:2477
    sock_diag_rcv+0x2a/0x40 net/core/sock_diag.c:274

This issue occurs when asoc is peeled off and the old sk is freed after
getting it by asoc->base.sk and before calling lock_sock(sk).

To prevent the sk free, as a holder of the sk, ep should be alive when
calling lock_sock(). This patch uses call_rcu() and moves sock_put and
ep free into sctp_endpoint_destroy_rcu(), so that it's safe to try to
hold the ep under rcu_read_lock in sctp_transport_traverse_process().

If sctp_endpoint_hold() returns true, it means this ep is still alive
and we have held it and can continue to dump it; If it returns false,
it means this ep is dead and can be freed after rcu_read_unlock, and
we should skip it.

In sctp_sock_dump(), after locking the sk, if this ep is different from
tsp->asoc->ep, it means during this dumping, this asoc was peeled off
before calling lock_sock(), and the sk should be skipped; If this ep is
the same with tsp->asoc->ep, it means no peeloff happens on this asoc,
and due to lock_sock, no peeloff will happen either until release_sock.

Note that delaying endpoint free won't delay the port release, as the
port release happens in sctp_endpoint_destroy() before calling call_rcu().
Also, freeing endpoint by call_rcu() makes it safe to access the sk by
asoc->base.sk in sctp_assocs_seq_show() and sctp_rcv().

Thanks Jones to bring this issue up.

v1->v2:
  - improve the changelog.
  - add kfree(ep) into sctp_endpoint_destroy_rcu(), as Jakub noticed.

## Affected

- `linux_kernel >= 4.14.0, < 4.14.261`
- `linux_kernel >= 4.15.0, < 4.19.224`
- `linux_kernel >= 4.20.0, < 5.4.170`
- `linux_kernel >= 5.5.0, < 5.10.90`
- `linux_kernel >= 5.11.0, < 5.15.13`

## Remediation

Upgrade past the affected range:

- `linux_kernel 5.15.13`
