Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2021-38203

btrfs in the Linux kernel before 5.13.4 allows attackers to cause a denial of service (deadlock) via processes that trigger allocation of new system chunks during times when there is a shortage of free space in the system space_info.

Security Impact Summary

This vulnerability carries a MEDIUM severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 5.5, requiring local system access to exploit with relatively low complexity without requiring user interaction requiring only low-level privileges . The vulnerability impacts and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 7 products from linux, from netapp, from netapp and 4 others, organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

Reported in 2021, this vulnerability emerged during an era marked by increased sophistication in supply chain attacks, cloud infrastructure vulnerabilities, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) security challenges. Security practices during this period emphasized zero-trust architectures, container security, and API protection.

Published

2021-08-08T20:15:07.217

Last Modified

2024-11-21T06:16:39.090

Status

Modified

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.1: 5.5 (MEDIUM)

CVSSv2 Vector

AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P

Access Vector: LOCAL
Access Complexity: LOW
Authentication: NONE
Confidentiality Impact: NONE
Integrity Impact: NONE
Availability Impact: PARTIAL

Exploitability Score

3.9

Impact Score

2.9

Weaknesses

Type: Primary
CWE-667

Affected Vendors & Products

Type	Vendor	Product	Version/Range	Vulnerable?
Operating System	linux	linux_kernel	< 5.13.4	Yes
Operating System	netapp	hci_bootstrap_os	-	Yes
Hardware	netapp	hci_compute_node	-	No
Application	netapp	hci_management_node	-	Yes
Application	netapp	solidfire	-	Yes
Application	netapp	element_software	-	Yes
Hardware	netapp	hci_storage_node	-	No

References

https://cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v5.x/ChangeLog-5.13.4 Mailing List, Patch, Vendor Advisory ([email protected])
https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/1cb3db1cf383a3c7dbda1aa0ce748b0958759947 Exploit, Patch, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20210902-0010/ Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v5.x/ChangeLog-5.13.4 Mailing List, Patch, Vendor Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/1cb3db1cf383a3c7dbda1aa0ce748b0958759947 Exploit, Patch, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20210902-0010/ Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)

How SecUtils Interprets This CVE

SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For linux's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.