CVE-2021-47182: scsi: core: Fix scsi_mode_sense() buffer length handling
Vulnerability summary
CVE-2021-47182 is a medium (CVSS 5.5) vulnerability in linux. EPSS estimates a 0.20% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 9.3% of scored vulnerabilities.
Not severe (CVSS 5.5, local access); no exploitation reported by the 5 checked sources
Source freshness unavailable
How is this decided?Advisory lineage
Upstream 0 · Downstream 8 · Related 8Timeline
- 10-04-2024PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
- 11-05-2026Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: scsi: core: Fix scsi_mode_sense() buffer length handling Several problems exist with scsi_mode_sense() buffer length handling: 1) The allocation length field of the MODE SENSE(10) command is 16-bits, occupying bytes 7 and 8 of the CDB. With this command, access to mode pages larger than 255 bytes is thus possible. However, the CDB allocation length field is set by assigning len to byte 8 only, thus truncating buffer length larger than 255. 2) If scsi_mode_sense() is called with len smaller than 8 with sdev->use_10_for_ms set, or smaller than 4 otherwise, the buffer length is increased to 8 and 4 respectively, and the buffer is zero filled with these increased values, thus corrupting the memory following the buffer. Fix these 2 problems by using put_unaligned_be16() to set the allocation length field of MODE SENSE(10) CDB and by returning an error when len is too small. Furthermore, if len is larger than 255B, always try MODE SENSE(10) first, even if the device driver did not set sdev->use_10_for_ms. In case of invalid opcode error for MODE SENSE(10), access to mode pages larger than 255 bytes are not retried using MODE SENSE(6). To avoid buffer length overflows for the MODE_SENSE(10) case, check that len is smaller than 65535 bytes. While at it, also fix the folowing: * Use get_unaligned_be16() to retrieve the mode data length and block descriptor length fields of the mode sense reply header instead of using an open coded calculation. * Fix the kdoc dbd argument explanation: the DBD bit stands for Disable Block Descriptor, which is the opposite of what the dbd argument description was.
CVSS metrics
3 scores · 3 sources · 1 version- OSV · UbuntuEcosystem advisory · calculated5.5MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
- OSV · DebianEcosystem advisory · calculated5.5MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
EPSS trend
Probability
0.20%
Chance of exploitation in the next 30 days
Percentile
9%
Versus all other CVEs
30-day change
No change 0.00 pp
From 0.20% on 04-10-2026
Known exploited
Compare KEV catalogsNot in the CISA KEV catalog.
Not in the ENISA CNW catalog.
Not in the CIRCL catalog.
Public exploits
0 foundNo public exploits indexed.
Weaknesses
CWE · root causeAffected systems
Known conditions: local access, low-privilege account, no user interaction (CVSS vector). Other conditions: not stated in public data.
Ubuntu91 products
- linuxAll versions (No fix recorded)
- linux-allwinner-5.19All versions (No fix recorded)
- linux-awsAll versions (No fix recorded)
- linux-aws-5.0All versions (No fix recorded)
- linux-aws-5.11All versions (No fix recorded)
Linux2 products
- linux≥ 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2, < e15de347faf4a9f494cbd4e9a623d343dc1b5851 | ≥ 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2, < 17b49bcbf8351d3dbe57204468ac34f033ed60bc | 2.6.12
- linux_kernel< 5.15.5
Debian1 product
- linux< 5.15.5-1
3 vendors · 94 products