CVE-2021-46985

Service interruption via ACPI scan memory leak

Published Feb 28, 2024 · Updated May 23, 2026

Memory leak in Linux ACPI scan code allows local users to interrupt service by repeatedly triggering device-name allocation failures. The acpi_device_set_name() failure path in drivers/acpi/scan.c returns without freeing acpi_device_bus_id->bus_id. Local access is required, and repeated failures can exhaust kernel memory without affecting confidentiality or integrity.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.25%
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 Linux ACPI scan code allows local users to interrupt service by repeatedly triggering device-name allocation failures. The acpi_device_set_name() failure path in drivers/acpi/scan.c returns without freeing acpi_device_bus_id->bus_id. Local access is required, and repeated failures can exhaust kernel memory without affecting confidentiality or integrity.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-46985
Published
Feb 28, 2024
Updated
May 23, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-401, T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 28, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 23, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

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

  1. Affected versionversion=321dbe6c0b551f9f8030becc6900f77cf9bbb9ad <c5c8f6ffc942cf42f990f22e35bcf4cbe9d8c2fb
  2. Affected versionversion=4.14.228 <4.14.233
  3. Affected versionversion=4.19.184 <4.19.191
  4. Affected versionversion=4.9.264 <4.9.269
  5. Affected versionversion=4a5891992c680d69d7e490e4d0428d17779d8e85 <e2381174daeae0ca35eddffef02dcc8de8c1ef8a
  6. Affected versionversion=5.10.27 <5.10.38
  7. Affected versionversion=5.11.11 <5.11.22
  8. Affected versionversion=5.12
  9. Affected versionversion=5.4.109 <5.4.120
  10. Affected versionversion=717d9d88fbd956ab03fad97266f6ce63a036e7f8 <5ab9857dde7c3ea3faef6b128d718cf8ba98721b
  11. Affected versionversion=7385e438e1f31af5b86f72fd19b0dcd2738502c9 <69cc821e89ce572884548ac54c4f80eec7a837a5
  12. Affected versionversion=bc0b1a2036dd8072106ec81a8685ecb901f72ed6 <dafd4c0b5e835db020cff11c74b4af9493a58e72
  13. Affected versionversion=e5cdbe419004e172f642e876a671a9ff1c52f8bb <6901a4f795e0e8d65ae779cb37fc22e0bf294712
  14. Affected versionversion=eb50aaf960e3bedfef79063411ffd670da94b84b <0c8bd174f0fc131bc9dfab35cd8784f59045da87
  15. Affected versionversion=eb50aaf960e3bedfef79063411ffd670da94b84b <a7e17a8d421ae23c920240625b4413c7b94d94a4

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=321dbe6c0b551f9f8030becc6900f77cf9bbb9ad <c5c8f6ffc942cf42f990f22e35bcf4cbe9d8c2fb; version=4.14.228 <4.14.233; version=4.19.184 <4.19.191; version=4.9.264 <4.9.269; version=4a5891992c680d69d7e490e4d0428d17779d8e85 <e2381174daeae0ca35eddffef02dcc8de8c1ef8a; version=5.10.27 <5.10.38; version=5.11.11 <5.11.22; version=5.12; version=5.4.109 <5.4.120; version=717d9d88fbd956ab03fad97266f6ce63a036e7f8 <5ab9857dde7c3ea3faef6b128d718cf8ba98721b; version=7385e438e1f31af5b86f72fd19b0dcd2738502c9 <69cc821e89ce572884548ac54c4f80eec7a837a5; version=bc0b1a2036dd8072106ec81a8685ecb901f72ed6 <dafd4c0b5e835db020cff11c74b4af9493a58e72; version=e5cdbe419004e172f642e876a671a9ff1c52f8bb <6901a4f795e0e8d65ae779cb37fc22e0bf294712; version=eb50aaf960e3bedfef79063411ffd670da94b84b <0c8bd174f0fc131bc9dfab35cd8784f59045da87; version=eb50aaf960e3bedfef79063411ffd670da94b84b <a7e17a8d421ae23c920240625b4413c7b94d94a4

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-401Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

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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