CVE-2021-47177

Service interruption via failed IOMMU cleanup

Published Mar 25, 2024 · Updated May 11, 2026

Memory leak in Linux kernel branches starting at 4.11 allows local users to interrupt service through failed Intel IOMMU initialization. alloc_iommu() adds an Intel VT-d IOMMU device to sysfs before registration, but its error path omits iommu_device_sysfs_remove(), leaving the device allocated. The condition is limited to later failures in the Intel VT-d hotplug setup path and affects availability without reported data access or modification.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.24%
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 kernel branches starting at 4.11 allows local users to interrupt service through failed Intel IOMMU initialization. alloc_iommu() adds an Intel VT-d IOMMU device to sysfs before registration, but its error path omits iommu_device_sysfs_remove(), leaving the device allocated. The condition is limited to later failures in the Intel VT-d hotplug setup path and affects availability without reported data access or modification.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-47177
Published
Mar 25, 2024
Updated
May 11, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-401, T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 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=39ab9555c24110671f8dc671311a26e5c985b592 <044bbe8b92ab4e542de7f6c93c88ea65cccd8e29
  2. Affected versionversion=39ab9555c24110671f8dc671311a26e5c985b592 <0ee74d5a48635c848c20f152d0d488bf84641304
  3. Affected versionversion=39ab9555c24110671f8dc671311a26e5c985b592 <22da9f4978381a99f1abaeaf6c9b83be6ab5ddd8
  4. Affected versionversion=39ab9555c24110671f8dc671311a26e5c985b592 <2ec5e9bb6b0560c90d315559c28a99723c80b996
  5. Affected versionversion=39ab9555c24110671f8dc671311a26e5c985b592 <ca466561eef36d1ec657673e3944eb6340bddb5b
  6. Affected versionversion=39ab9555c24110671f8dc671311a26e5c985b592 <f01134321d04f47c718bb41b799bcdeda27873d2
  7. Affected versionversion=4.11

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=39ab9555c24110671f8dc671311a26e5c985b592 <044bbe8b92ab4e542de7f6c93c88ea65cccd8e29; version=39ab9555c24110671f8dc671311a26e5c985b592 <0ee74d5a48635c848c20f152d0d488bf84641304; version=39ab9555c24110671f8dc671311a26e5c985b592 <22da9f4978381a99f1abaeaf6c9b83be6ab5ddd8; version=39ab9555c24110671f8dc671311a26e5c985b592 <2ec5e9bb6b0560c90d315559c28a99723c80b996; version=39ab9555c24110671f8dc671311a26e5c985b592 <ca466561eef36d1ec657673e3944eb6340bddb5b; version=39ab9555c24110671f8dc671311a26e5c985b592 <f01134321d04f47c718bb41b799bcdeda27873d2; version=4.11

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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