Vulnerability in vsock/virtio package: Freeing Queued Packets When Closing Socket

Kernel Updated 02 Oct 2025

Summary

31/05/2021

Disclosed on

N/A

Severity

No i

Fix available

Unrated

Severity

Not published

CVSS Score

GSD-2021-1000350: vsock/virtio: free queued packets when closing socket. Affects Kernel versions >= ac03046ece2b158ebd204dfc4896fd9f39f0e6c8, < b605673b523fe33abeafb2136759bcbc9c1e6ebf. No fix is published. How to fix ↓

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Background

The vsock/virtio package is a component of the Linux Kernel that provides support for the VirtIO transport protocol and the vsock socket family. It enables communication between virtual machines and the host system. The package allows for efficient data transfer and facilitates inter-VM communication. However, a vulnerability has been discovered in this package that could potentially be exploited by attackers.

Vulnerability Detail

The vulnerability in the vsock/virtio package involves the failure to free queued packets when closing a socket. When a socket is closed, any packets that are still in the queue should be properly released to prevent resource leaks. However, due to a coding error, the queued packets are not freed, leading to a potential resource exhaustion issue. An attacker could potentially exploit this vulnerability to exhaust system resources, resulting in a denial-of-service (DoS) condition. The impact and attack plausibility of this vulnerability have not been proven yet.

How To Fix

No fixed version is published for this vulnerability.

To fix this vulnerability, it is recommended to update the Linux Kernel to version v5.10.37 or later. The fix for this issue was implemented in commit b605673b523fe33abeafb2136759bcbc9c1e6ebf. Updating to the latest version of the Linux Kernel will ensure that the vulnerability is patched and the queued packets are properly freed when closing a socket.

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Workaround

No workaround has been provided for this vulnerability. It is recommended to apply the fix by updating the Linux Kernel to the latest version.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the vsock/virtio package in the Linux Kernel is vulnerable to a resource exhaustion issue due to the failure to free queued packets when closing a socket. To mitigate this vulnerability, it is crucial to update the Linux Kernel to version v5.10.37 or later. For further support on vulnerability remediation, you can reach out to DevNack.com.

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