virtiofs: fix memory leak in virtio_fs_probe()
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 2 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-401.
Summary
In 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
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 5.4 and later | 5.4.118, 5.10.36, 5.11.20, 5.12.3, 5.13 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.4 and later Fixed in 5.4.118, 5.10.36, 5.11.20, 5.12.3, 5.13 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.4 to before 5.4.118; 5.5 to before 5.10.36; 5.11 to before 5.11.20; 5.12 to before 5.12.3 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.4 to before 5.4.118; 5.5 to before 5.10.36; 5.11 to before 5.11.20; 5.12 to before 5.12.3 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.4.118, 5.10.36, 5.11.20, 5.12.3, 5.13
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Low. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
Not affected: 2 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2021-46956
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-7r25-m49h-vw58
References
Patch 5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/310efc95c72c13faf855c692d19cd4d054d827c8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d19555ff225d0896a33246a49279e6d578095f15
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9b9d60c0eb8ada99cce2a9ab5c15dffc523b01ae
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5116e79fc6e6725b8acdad8b7e928a83ab7b47e6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c79c5e0178922a9e092ec8fed026750f39dcaef4
More Linux Kernel vulnerabilities
- TI-2025-26358 tls: fix handling of zero-length records on the rx_list KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-38352 netfilter: bridge: make ebt_snat ARP rewrite writable KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2013-05264 The (1) get_user and (2) put_user API functions in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 on the… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2022-00125 Integer overflow in kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2013-01864 The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
Sources
- CVE-2021-46956 · CVE Program
- CVE-2021-46956 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-7r25-m49h-vw58 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2021-46956 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences