CVE-2021-47233

Local system crash via absent enable GPIO

Published May 21, 2024 · Updated May 11, 2026

NULL pointer dereference in the Linux kernel rt4801 regulator driver allows local users to crash affected systems during regulator control. The rt4801_enable and rt4801_disable paths read enable_gpios->ndescs without checking whether optional GPIO acquisition returned NULL. Reachability requires the Richtek RT4801 driver and a hardware configuration without an assigned enable GPIO; the resulting kernel fault interrupts the system.

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

NULL pointer dereference in the Linux kernel rt4801 regulator driver allows local users to crash affected systems during regulator control. The rt4801_enable and rt4801_disable paths read enable_gpios->ndescs without checking whether optional GPIO acquisition returned NULL. Reachability requires the Richtek RT4801 driver and a hardware configuration without an assigned enable GPIO; the resulting kernel fault interrupts the system.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-47233
Published
May 21, 2024
Updated
May 11, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-476, T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 21, 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

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=5.10
  2. Affected versionversion=5bbbfc7f7f0a44b7a85ab3872dd2ccce7019f7b1 <ba8a26a7ce8617f9f3d6230de34b2302df086b41
  3. Affected versionversion=5bbbfc7f7f0a44b7a85ab3872dd2ccce7019f7b1 <cb2381cbecb81a8893b2d1e1af29bc2e5531df27
  4. Affected versionversion=5bbbfc7f7f0a44b7a85ab3872dd2ccce7019f7b1 <dc68f0c9e4a001e02376fe87f4bdcacadb27e8a1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=5.10; version=5bbbfc7f7f0a44b7a85ab3872dd2ccce7019f7b1 <ba8a26a7ce8617f9f3d6230de34b2302df086b41; version=5bbbfc7f7f0a44b7a85ab3872dd2ccce7019f7b1 <cb2381cbecb81a8893b2d1e1af29bc2e5531df27; version=5bbbfc7f7f0a44b7a85ab3872dd2ccce7019f7b1 <dc68f0c9e4a001e02376fe87f4bdcacadb27e8a1

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-476NULL Pointer Dereference
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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