Kernel memory leak via failed device registration
Published Mar 4, 2024 · Updated May 11, 2026
Memory leak in the Linux kernel 5.9 through 5.16-rc6 allows local users to consume kernel memory after failed device registration. The intel_pmc_core initialization error path returns after platform-device registration fails without calling platform_device_put(), leaving the device structure and resources such as its name allocated. Reachability requires local low-privileged access and a registration failure during module initialization; each failure leaves memory unavailable, with no reported confidentiality or integrity impact.
Summary
What happened
Memory leak in the Linux kernel 5.9 through 5.16-rc6 allows local users to consume kernel memory after failed device registration. The intel_pmc_core initialization error path returns after platform-device registration fails without calling platform_device_put(), leaving the device structure and resources such as its name allocated. Reachability requires local low-privileged access and a registration failure during module initialization; each failure leaves memory unavailable, with no reported confidentiality or integrity impact.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2021-47093
- Published
- Mar 4, 2024
- Updated
- May 11, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-401, T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Mar 4, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- 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.
- Affected versionversion=5.9
- Affected versionversion=938835aa903ae19ad62805134f79bbcf20fc3bea <26a8b09437804fabfb1db080d676b96c0de68e7c
- Affected versionversion=938835aa903ae19ad62805134f79bbcf20fc3bea <7a37f2e370699e2feca3dca6c8178c71ceee7e8a
- Affected versionversion=938835aa903ae19ad62805134f79bbcf20fc3bea <9ca1324755f1f8629a370af5cc315b175331f5d1
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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