CVE-2021-46914

Network-service interruption via unbalanced PCI device state

Published Feb 27, 2024 · Updated May 11, 2026

Denial of service in the Linux ixgbe driver 5.9 through 5.10.31 and 5.11 through 5.11.15 allows local users to interrupt networking. The resume path omits pci_enable_device_mem(), while shutdown still calls pci_disable_device(), causing dev->enable_cnt to become unbalanced. Reachability requires an ixgbe-backed PCI adapter and a suspend/resume cycle; the resulting already-disabled device state affects availability.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.23%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Denial of service in the Linux ixgbe driver 5.9 through 5.10.31 and 5.11 through 5.11.15 allows local users to interrupt networking. The resume path omits pci_enable_device_mem(), while shutdown still calls pci_disable_device(), causing dev->enable_cnt to become unbalanced. Reachability requires an ixgbe-backed PCI adapter and a suspend/resume cycle; the resulting already-disabled device state affects availability.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-46914
Published
Feb 27, 2024
Updated
May 11, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 27, 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=5.9
  2. Affected versionversion=6f82b25587354ce7c9c42e0b53d8b0770b900847 <be07581aacae7cd0a073afae8e8862032f794309
  3. Affected versionversion=6f82b25587354ce7c9c42e0b53d8b0770b900847 <debb9df311582c83fe369baa35fa4b92e8a9c58a
  4. Affected versionversion=6f82b25587354ce7c9c42e0b53d8b0770b900847 <f1b4be4a753caa4056496f679d70550d0c11a264

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=5.9; version=6f82b25587354ce7c9c42e0b53d8b0770b900847 <be07581aacae7cd0a073afae8e8862032f794309; version=6f82b25587354ce7c9c42e0b53d8b0770b900847 <debb9df311582c83fe369baa35fa4b92e8a9c58a; version=6f82b25587354ce7c9c42e0b53d8b0770b900847 <f1b4be4a753caa4056496f679d70550d0c11a264

Published CVSS scores

5.5NISTCVSS: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

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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