CVE-2021-46956
MediumIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: virtiofs: fix memory leak in virtio_fs_probe() When accidentally passing twice the same tag to qemu, kmemleak ended up reporting a memory leak in virtiofs. Also, looking at the log I saw the following error (that's when I realised the duplicated tag): virtiofs: probe of virtio5 failed with error -17 Here's the kmemleak log for reference: unreferenced object 0xffff888103d47800 (size 1024): comm "systemd-udevd", pid 118, jiffies 4294893780 (age 18.340s) hex dump (first 32 bytes): 00 00 00 00 ad 4e ad de ff ff ff ff 00 00 00 00 .....N.......... ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff 80 90 02 a0 ff ff ff ff ................ backtrace: [<000000000ebb87c1>] virtio_fs_probe+0x171/0x7ae [virtiofs] [<00000000f8aca419>] virtio_dev_probe+0x15f/0x210 [<000000004d6baf3c>] really_probe+0xea/0x430 [<00000000a6ceeac8>] device_driver_attach+0xa8/0xb0 [<00000000196f47a7>] __driver_attach+0x98/0x140 [<000000000b20601d>] bus_for_each_dev+0x7b/0xc0 [<00000000399c7b7f>] bus_add_driver+0x11b/0x1f0 [<0000000032b09ba7>] driver_register+0x8f/0xe0 [<00000000cdd55998>] 0xffffffffa002c013 [<000000000ea196a2>] do_one_initcall+0x64/0x2e0 [<0000000008f727ce>] do_init_module+0x5c/0x260 [<000000003cdedab6>] __do_sys_finit_module+0xb5/0x120 [<00000000ad2f48c6>] do_syscall_64+0x33/0x40 [<00000000809526b5>] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xae
CVSS 3.1 score
5.5
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Weakness type
CWE-401CVE-2021-46956 is a Memory Leak vulnerability
What is Memory Leak?
The product does not release memory after use, causing gradual resource exhaustion. Learn more on MITRE CWE
References
The following references provide additional information about CVE-2021-46956 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/310efc95c72c13faf855c692d19cd4d054d827c8
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5116e79fc6e6725b8acdad8b7e928a83ab7b47e6
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9b9d60c0eb8ada99cce2a9ab5c15dffc523b01ae
Frequently asked questions
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What is CVE-2021-46956?
CVE-2021-46956 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 , classified as a Memory Leak flaw (CWE-401) . CVE-2021-46956 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
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What is the CVSS score for CVE-2021-46956?
CVE-2021-46956 has a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, rated Medium severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H. -
Is there a patch available for CVE-2021-46956?
No patch is currently available for CVE-2021-46956. Monitor the NIST NVD and your Linux distribution's security advisories for updates.
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Is CVE-2021-46956 actively exploited?
No — CVE-2021-46956 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.
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What is Memory Leak (CWE-401)?
The product does not release memory after use, causing gradual resource exhaustion. View CWE-401 on MITRE CWE →