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linux — security advisory

Type: advisorySources: OSVAdvisory ID: DEBIAN-CVE-2021-47044

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sched/fair: Fix shift-out-of-bounds in load_balance() Syzbot reported a handful of occurrences where an sd->nr_balance_failed can grow to much higher values than one would expect. A successful load_balance() resets it to 0; a failed one increments it. Once it gets to sd->cache_nice_tries + 3, this *should* trigger an active balance, which will either set it to sd->cache_nice_tries+1 or reset it to 0. However, in case the to-be-active-balanced task is not allowed to run on env->dst_cpu, then the increment is done without any further modification. This could then be repeated ad nauseam, and would explain the absurdly high values reported by syzbot (86, 149). VincentG noted there is value in letting sd->cache_nice_tries grow, so the shift itself should be fixed. That means preventing: """ If the value of the right operand is negative or is greater than or equal to the width of the promoted left operand, the behavior is undefined. """ Thus we need to cap the shift exponent to BITS_PER_TYPE(typeof(lefthand)) - 1. I had a look around for other similar cases via coccinelle: @expr@ position pos; expression E1; expression E2; @@ ( E1 >> E2@pos | E1 >> E2@pos ) @cst depends on expr@ position pos; expression expr.E1; constant cst; @@ ( E1 >> cst@pos | E1 << cst@pos ) @script:python depends on !cst@ pos << expr.pos; exp << expr.E2; @@ # Dirty hack to ignore constexpr if exp.upper() != exp: coccilib.report.print_report(po

Products
linux
Affected versions
Not specified
Fixed versions
5.10.38-1
CVEs
CVE-2021-47044
Confirmed fixed CVEs
Not specified
Updated in this feed
1 Nov 2026, 01:10 UTC · Revision 1

Source evidence

DEBIAN-CVE-2021-47044

core-osv · Original source

Published 28 Feb 2024, 09:15 UTC

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sched/fair: Fix shift-out-of-bounds in load_balance() Syzbot reported a handful of occurrences where an sd->nr_balance_failed can grow to much higher values than one would expect. A successful load_balance() resets it to 0; a failed one increments it. Once it gets to sd->cache_nice_tries + 3, this *should* trigger an active balance, which will either set it to sd->cache_nice_tries+1 or reset it to 0. However, in case the to-be-active-balanced task is not allowed to run on env->dst_cpu, then the increment is done without any further modification. This could then be repeated ad nauseam, and would explain the absurdly high values reported by syzbot (86, 149). VincentG noted there is value in letting sd->cache_nice_tries grow, so the shift itself should be fixed. That means preventing: """ If the value of the right operand is negative or is greater than or equal to the width of the promoted left operand, the behavior is undefined. """ Thus we need to cap the shift exponent to BITS_PER_TYPE(typeof(lefthand)) - 1. I had a look around for other similar cases via coccinelle: @expr@ position pos; expression E1; expression E2; @@ ( E1 >> E2@pos | E1 >> E2@pos ) @cst depends on expr@ position pos; expression expr.E1; constant cst; @@ ( E1 >> cst@pos | E1 << cst@pos ) @script:python depends on !cst@ pos << expr.pos; exp << expr.E2; @@ # Dirty hack to ignore constexpr if exp.upper() != exp: coccilib.report.print_report(po

osv:DEBIAN-CVE-2021-47044

linux

Fixed versions: 5.10.38-1

linux

Fixed versions: 5.10.38-1

linux

Fixed versions: 5.10.38-1

Complete source record
{
  "id": "a44e201e6a94880f09e6b87093e9a0e3096dc0d09115193fb7a4667214a95652",
  "url": "https://osv.dev/vulnerability/DEBIAN-CVE-2021-47044",
  "method": "structured",
  "payload": {
    "kind": "advisory",
    "title": "DEBIAN-CVE-2021-47044",
    "summary": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sched/fair: Fix shift-out-of-bounds in load_balance() Syzbot reported a handful of occurrences where an sd->nr_balance_failed can grow to much higher values than one would expect. A successful load_balance() resets it to 0; a failed one increments it. Once it gets to sd->cache_nice_tries + 3, this *should* trigger an active balance, which will either set it to sd->cache_nice_tries+1 or reset it to 0. However, in case the to-be-active-balanced task is not allowed to run on env->dst_cpu, then the increment is done without any further modification. This could then be repeated ad nauseam, and would explain the absurdly high values reported by syzbot (86, 149). VincentG noted there is value in letting sd->cache_nice_tries grow, so the shift itself should be fixed. That means preventing: \"\"\" If the value of the right operand is negative or is greater than or equal to the width of the promoted left operand, the behavior is undefined. \"\"\" Thus we need to cap the shift exponent to BITS_PER_TYPE(typeof(lefthand)) - 1. I had a look around for other similar cases via coccinelle: @expr@ position pos; expression E1; expression E2; @@ ( E1 >> E2@pos | E1 >> E2@pos ) @cst depends on expr@ position pos; expression expr.E1; constant cst; @@ ( E1 >> cst@pos | E1 << cst@pos ) @script:python depends on !cst@ pos << expr.pos; exp << expr.E2; @@ # Dirty hack to ignore constexpr if exp.upper() != exp: coccilib.report.print_report(po",
    "evidence": "osv:DEBIAN-CVE-2021-47044",
    "products": [
      {
        "name": {
          "value": "linux",
          "evidence": "/affected/0/package/name"
        },
        "prerequisites": [],
        "fixed_versions": [
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            "evidence": "/affected/0/ranges"
          }
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        "affected_versions": []
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      {
        "name": {
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          "evidence": "/affected/1/package/name"
        },
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        "fixed_versions": [
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            "evidence": "/affected/1/ranges"
          }
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        "affected_versions": []
      },
      {
        "name": {
          "value": "linux",
          "evidence": "/affected/2/package/name"
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        "prerequisites": [],
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            "evidence": "/affected/2/ranges"
          }
        ],
        "affected_versions": []
      }
    ],
    "severity": "high",
    "structured": {
      "id": "DEBIAN-CVE-2021-47044",
      "aliases": [
        "DEBIAN-CVE-2021-47044"
      ],
      "metrics": [
        {
          "type": "CVSS_V3",
          "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H"
        }
      ],
      "affected": [
        {
          "ranges": [
            {
              "type": "ECOSYSTEM",
              "events": [
                {
                  "introduced": "0"
                },
                {
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              ]
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          ],
          "package": {
            "name": "linux",
            "purl": "pkg:deb/debian/linux?arch=source&distro=bookworm",
            "ecosystem": "Debian:12"
          },
          "database_specific": {
            "source": "https://storage.googleapis.com/debian-osv/debian-cve-osv/DEBIAN-CVE-2021-47044.json"
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          "ecosystem_specific": {
            "urgency": "not yet assigned"
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        },
        {
          "ranges": [
            {
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              ]
            }
          ],
          "package": {
            "name": "linux",
            "purl": "pkg:deb/debian/linux?arch=source&distro=trixie",
            "ecosystem": "Debian:13"
          },
          "database_specific": {
            "source": "https://storage.googleapis.com/debian-osv/debian-cve-osv/DEBIAN-CVE-2021-47044.json"
          },
          "ecosystem_specific": {
            "urgency": "not yet assigned"
          }
        },
        {
          "ranges": [
            {
              "type": "ECOSYSTEM",
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          ],
          "package": {
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            "purl": "pkg:deb/debian/linux?arch=source&distro=forky",
            "ecosystem": "Debian:14"
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          "database_specific": {
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          },
          "ecosystem_specific": {
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        }
      ],
      "modified": "2026-10-23T18:04:17.921317179Z",
      "provider": "osv",
      "upstream": [
        "CVE-2021-47044"
      ],
      "references": [
        "https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2021-47044"
      ]
    },
    "related_cves": [
      {
        "value": "CVE-2021-47044",
        "evidence": "/upstream"
      }
    ],
    "security_relevant": true,
    "severity_evidence": "/severity/0/score"
  },
  "source_id": "core-osv",
  "document_id": 423242,
  "published_at": "2024-02-28T09:15:40.173+00:00"
}