CVE-2021-46944

Local service interruption via try-format memory leak

Published Feb 27, 2024 · Updated May 11, 2026

Memory leak in the Intel IPU3 ImgU driver in Linux allows local users to exhaust kernel memory through repeated try-format ioctls. The imu_fmt path allocates temporary format memory before a check that can return early, discarding the only reference without releasing the allocation. Reachability requires low-privileged access to an ImgU V4L2 device on compatible Intel IPU3 hardware; repeated calls can interrupt service through memory exhaustion.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.22%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Memory leak in the Intel IPU3 ImgU driver in Linux allows local users to exhaust kernel memory through repeated try-format ioctls. The imu_fmt path allocates temporary format memory before a check that can return early, discarding the only reference without releasing the allocation. Reachability requires low-privileged access to an ImgU V4L2 device on compatible Intel IPU3 hardware; repeated calls can interrupt service through memory exhaustion.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-46944
Published
Feb 27, 2024
Updated
May 11, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-401, T1499.001
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=5.2
  2. Affected versionversion=6d5f26f2e045f2377b524516194657c00efbbce8 <14d0e99c3ef6b0648535a31bf2eaabb4eff97b9e
  3. Affected versionversion=6d5f26f2e045f2377b524516194657c00efbbce8 <3630901933afba1d16c462b04d569b7576339223
  4. Affected versionversion=6d5f26f2e045f2377b524516194657c00efbbce8 <517f6f570566a863c2422b843c8b7d099474f6a9
  5. Affected versionversion=6d5f26f2e045f2377b524516194657c00efbbce8 <74ba0adb5e983503b18a96121d965cad34ac7ce3
  6. Affected versionversion=6d5f26f2e045f2377b524516194657c00efbbce8 <ff792ae52005c85a2d829c153e08d99a356e007d

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=5.2; version=6d5f26f2e045f2377b524516194657c00efbbce8 <14d0e99c3ef6b0648535a31bf2eaabb4eff97b9e; version=6d5f26f2e045f2377b524516194657c00efbbce8 <3630901933afba1d16c462b04d569b7576339223; version=6d5f26f2e045f2377b524516194657c00efbbce8 <517f6f570566a863c2422b843c8b7d099474f6a9; version=6d5f26f2e045f2377b524516194657c00efbbce8 <74ba0adb5e983503b18a96121d965cad34ac7ce3; version=6d5f26f2e045f2377b524516194657c00efbbce8 <ff792ae52005c85a2d829c153e08d99a356e007d

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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

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-401Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime
T1499.001OS Exhaustion Flood

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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