Cyber Resilience

CVE-2021-3656

High

Published: 04 March 2022

Published
04 March 2022
Modified
21 November 2024
KEV Added
Patch
CVSS Score v3.1 8.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0007 20.6th percentile
Risk Priority 18 60% EPSS · 20% KEV · 20% CVSS

Summary

CVE-2021-3656 is a high-severity Missing Authorization (CWE-862) vulnerability in Linux Linux Kernel. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).

Operationally, ranked at the 20.6th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability details

A flaw was found in the KVM's AMD code for supporting SVM nested virtualization. The flaw occurs when processing the VMCB (virtual machine control block) provided by the L1 guest to spawn/handle a nested guest (L2). Due to improper validation…

more

of the "virt_ext" field, this issue could allow a malicious L1 to disable both VMLOAD/VMSAVE intercepts and VLS (Virtual VMLOAD/VMSAVE) for the L2 guest. As a result, the L2 guest would be allowed to read/write physical pages of the host, resulting in a crash of the entire system, leak of sensitive data or potential guest-to-host escape.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

No named actor attribution yet. ATT&CK technique mapping in progress for this CVE.

Affected Assets

linux
linux kernel
5.14 · 4.13 — 4.14.245 · 4.15 — 4.19.205 · 4.20 — 5.4.142
fedoraproject
fedora
33, 34
redhat
software collections
all versions
redhat
openstack
13
redhat
enterprise linux
8.0
redhat
enterprise linux desktop
7.0
redhat
enterprise linux eus
8.1, 8.2, 8.4
redhat
enterprise linux for ibm z systems
7.0, 8.0
redhat
enterprise linux for ibm z systems eus
8.1, 8.2, 8.4
redhat
enterprise linux for power big endian
7.0
+16 more product configuration(s) — see NVD for full list

Mitigating Controls

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

addresses: CWE-862

Requiring an access control policy ensures authorization checks are defined and applied for critical functions.

addresses: CWE-862

Reviews of access controls detect missing authorization checks on critical functions or resources.

addresses: CWE-862

Documenting permitted unauthenticated actions prevents missing authorization by making all exceptions explicit and subject to organizational review.

addresses: CWE-862

Requiring attribute association with information prevents authorization from being performed without necessary security or privacy context.

addresses: CWE-862

Mandating authorization prior to allowing remote connections addresses missing authorization for remote access.

addresses: CWE-862

Mandating authorization before wireless connections are allowed prevents missing authorization for wireless access.

addresses: CWE-862

The control requires authorization before allowing mobile device connections, directly mitigating missing authorization for system access.

addresses: CWE-862

Requiring approvals for account creation and specifying authorizations ensures authorization is not missing for system access.

References