CVE-2021-46904

Local kernel crash via duplicate TTY allocation

Published Feb 25, 2024 · Updated May 11, 2026

NULL-pointer dereference in the HSO USB driver in Linux allows local users to crash the kernel during TTY device unregistration. get_free_serial_index() returns a free minor without reserving it, so concurrent callers can claim the same number and unregister one TTY device twice. Triggering the failure requires the HSO driver and overlapping TTY allocation; the resulting NULL dereference affects availability only.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.26%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

NULL-pointer dereference in the HSO USB driver in Linux allows local users to crash the kernel during TTY device unregistration. get_free_serial_index() returns a free minor without reserving it, so concurrent callers can claim the same number and unregister one TTY device twice. Triggering the failure requires the HSO driver and overlapping TTY allocation; the resulting NULL dereference affects availability only.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-46904
Published
Feb 25, 2024
Updated
May 11, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-476, T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 25, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 11, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=2.6.27
  2. Affected versionversion=72dc1c096c7051a48ab1dbb12f71976656b55eb5 <145c89c441d27696961752bf51b323f347601bee
  3. Affected versionversion=72dc1c096c7051a48ab1dbb12f71976656b55eb5 <388d05f70f1ee0cac4a2068fd295072f1a44152a
  4. Affected versionversion=72dc1c096c7051a48ab1dbb12f71976656b55eb5 <4a2933c88399c0ebc738db39bbce3ae89786d723
  5. Affected versionversion=72dc1c096c7051a48ab1dbb12f71976656b55eb5 <8a12f8836145ffe37e9c8733dce18c22fb668b66
  6. Affected versionversion=72dc1c096c7051a48ab1dbb12f71976656b55eb5 <92028d7a31e55d53e41cff679156b9432cffcb36
  7. Affected versionversion=72dc1c096c7051a48ab1dbb12f71976656b55eb5 <a462067d7c8e6953a733bf5ade8db947b1bb5449
  8. Affected versionversion=72dc1c096c7051a48ab1dbb12f71976656b55eb5 <caf5ac93b3b5d5fac032fc11fbea680e115421b4
  9. Affected versionversion=72dc1c096c7051a48ab1dbb12f71976656b55eb5 <dc195928d7e4ec7b5cfc6cd10dc4c8d87a7c72ac

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=2.6.27; version=72dc1c096c7051a48ab1dbb12f71976656b55eb5 <145c89c441d27696961752bf51b323f347601bee; version=72dc1c096c7051a48ab1dbb12f71976656b55eb5 <388d05f70f1ee0cac4a2068fd295072f1a44152a; version=72dc1c096c7051a48ab1dbb12f71976656b55eb5 <4a2933c88399c0ebc738db39bbce3ae89786d723; version=72dc1c096c7051a48ab1dbb12f71976656b55eb5 <8a12f8836145ffe37e9c8733dce18c22fb668b66; version=72dc1c096c7051a48ab1dbb12f71976656b55eb5 <92028d7a31e55d53e41cff679156b9432cffcb36; version=72dc1c096c7051a48ab1dbb12f71976656b55eb5 <a462067d7c8e6953a733bf5ade8db947b1bb5449; version=72dc1c096c7051a48ab1dbb12f71976656b55eb5 <caf5ac93b3b5d5fac032fc11fbea680e115421b4; version=72dc1c096c7051a48ab1dbb12f71976656b55eb5 <dc195928d7e4ec7b5cfc6cd10dc4c8d87a7c72ac

Published CVSS scores

5.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-476NULL Pointer Dereference
T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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