CVE-2021-38209 json
net/netfilter/nf_conntrack_standalone.c in the Linux kernel before 5.12.2 allows observation of changes in any net namespace because these…
published 2021-08-08 5 y ago modified 2026-06-17 4 mo ago also EUVD-2021-24667
- cvss
- 3.3
- version 3.1, NVD
- cisa kev
- Not listed
- not in CISA's catalog
- epss
- 0.3%
- EPSS 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 20%
- public exploits
- 0
- none known
Summary
net/netfilter/nf_conntrack_standalone.c in the Linux kernel before 5.12.2 allows observation of changes in any net namespace because these changes are leaked into all other net namespaces. This is related to the NF_SYSCTL_CT_MAX, NF_SYSCTL_CT_EXPECT_MAX, and NF_SYSCTL_CT_BUCKETS sysctls.
Patch / fix
- linux linux_kernel 5.12.2
- linux Debian 14, Debian 13, Debian 12 5.10.38-1
debian advisories DEBIAN-CVE-2021-38209
- linux-hwe-5.8 Ubuntu 20.04 LTS 5.8.0-59.66~20.04.1
- linux-oem-5.10 Ubuntu 20.04 LTS 5.10.0-1029.30
- linux-azure-5.8 Ubuntu 20.04 LTS 5.8.0-1036.38~20.04.1
- linux-bluefield Ubuntu 20.04 LTS 5.4.0-1016.19
ubuntu advisories UBUNTU-CVE-2021-38209
Ubuntu security data © Canonical Ltd., from https://github.com/canonical/ubuntu-security-notices via OSV; changed: normalised to fixed package versions per release. CC BY-SA 4.0
- kernel-default SLE Workstation Extension 15 SP3, SLE Module for Legacy 15 SP3, SLE Module for Basesystem 15 SP3 +3 more 5.3.18-59.24.1
- kernel-default-base SLE Module for Basesystem 15 SP3, SLE Micro 5.1 5.3.18-59.24.1.18.12.1
- kernel-64kb SLE Module for Basesystem 15 SP3 5.3.18-59.24.1
- kernel-syms SLE Module for Development Tools 15 SP3 5.3.18-59.24.1
- kernel-source SLE Module for Development Tools 15 SP3, SLE Module for Basesystem 15 SP3 5.3.18-59.24.1
- kernel-preempt SLE Workstation Extension 15 SP3, SLE Module for Development Tools 15 SP3, SLE Module for Basesystem 15 SP3 5.3.18-59.24.1
- kernel-zfcpdump SLE Module for Basesystem 15 SP3 5.3.18-59.24.1
- kernel-obs-build SLE Module for Development Tools 15 SP3 5.3.18-59.24.1
suse advisories SUSE-SU-2021:3205-2SUSE-SU-2021:3205-1SUSE-SU-2021:3179-1
- dtb-aarch64 openSUSE Leap 15.3 5.3.18-59.24.1
- kernel-64kb openSUSE Leap 15.3 5.3.18-59.24.1
- kernel-syms openSUSE Leap 15.3 5.3.18-59.24.1
- kernel-obs-qa openSUSE Leap 15.3 5.3.18-59.24.1
- kernel-source openSUSE Leap 15.3 5.3.18-59.24.1
- kernel-default openSUSE Leap 15.3 5.3.18-59.24.1
- kernel-preempt openSUSE Leap 15.3 5.3.18-59.24.1
- kernel-kvmsmall openSUSE Leap 15.3 5.3.18-59.24.1
opensuse advisories openSUSE-SU-2021:3205-1openSUSE-SU-2021:3179-1
Vendor advisories
What the vendors themselves say about their products: affected, fixed or not affected, and what to do.
red hat product security vex CVE-2021-38209 updated cvss 3.3
kernel: net/netfilter/nf_conntrack_standalone.c allows observation of changes in any net namespace because these changes are leaked into all other net namespaces
-
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 kernel Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 perf, kernel, python-perf, kernel-kdump, kernel-firmware, kernel-bootwrapper, +1 more Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 perf, kernel, kernel-alt, python-perf, kernel-kdump, kernel-tools, +3 moreaffected: no fix planned “Out of support scope”
-
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 kernel, bpftool, kernel-rt, kernel-rt-kvm, kernel-rt-trace, kernel-rt-debug-kvm, +1 more Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 perf, kernel, bpftool, kernel-rt, kernel-core, kernel-tools, +29 more Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 rv, perf, rtla, kernel, bpftool, libperf, +82 morenot affected: vulnerable code not present
Red Hat CSAF VEX © Red Hat, Inc., from https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/; changed: reduced to product statuses and remediations. CC BY 4.0 · csaf
Exploit prediction
0.28% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 20% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).
CVSS scores
| assigned by | version | score | vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVD | 3.1 | 3.3 | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N |
| NVD | 2.0 | 2.1 | AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N |
Classification
- Weakness
-
- CWE-203 Observable Discrepancy
- Technology feeds
References
-
github.com
/torvalds/linux/commit/2671fa4dc0109d3fb581bc3078fdf17b5d9080f6
patch, third-party-advisory
-
cdn.kernel.org
/pub/linux/kernel/v5.x/ChangeLog-5.12.2
mailing-list, patch, vendor-advisory
Sources
- CVE List CVE-2021-38209
- NVD CVE-2021-38209
Fencer Vulns keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.