CVE-2021-47249

Service interruption via leaked RDS message references

Published May 21, 2024 · Updated May 11, 2026

Memory leak in the RDS receive path in Linux allows local users to exhaust kernel memory by triggering a failed control-message copy. After rds_next_incoming increments an incoming-message reference, the rds_cmsg_recv error branch exits rds_recvmsg without calling rds_inc_put. Low-privilege local access to an RDS socket is required, and repeated failures consume kernel memory until service is interrupted.

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 the RDS receive path in Linux allows local users to exhaust kernel memory by triggering a failed control-message copy. After rds_next_incoming increments an incoming-message reference, the rds_cmsg_recv error branch exits rds_recvmsg without calling rds_inc_put. Low-privilege local access to an RDS socket is required, and repeated failures consume kernel memory until service is interrupted.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-47249
Published
May 21, 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

  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

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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=2.6.30
  2. Affected versionversion=bdbe6fbc6a2f2ccfb384b141b257677d2a8d36fb <06b7cb0194bd1ede0dd27f3a946e7c0279fba44a
  3. Affected versionversion=bdbe6fbc6a2f2ccfb384b141b257677d2a8d36fb <1f79bc8ae81c05eb112a53f981cb2c244ee50d02
  4. Affected versionversion=bdbe6fbc6a2f2ccfb384b141b257677d2a8d36fb <2038cd15eacdf7512755c27686822e0052eb9042
  5. Affected versionversion=bdbe6fbc6a2f2ccfb384b141b257677d2a8d36fb <423c6939758fb3b9cf5abbd1e7792068a5c4ae8c
  6. Affected versionversion=bdbe6fbc6a2f2ccfb384b141b257677d2a8d36fb <49bfcbfd989a8f1f23e705759a6bb099de2cff9f
  7. Affected versionversion=bdbe6fbc6a2f2ccfb384b141b257677d2a8d36fb <5946fbf48355f5a8caeff72580c7658da5966b86
  8. Affected versionversion=bdbe6fbc6a2f2ccfb384b141b257677d2a8d36fb <8c3ec88b03e9e4ca117dcdc4204fd3edcd02084f
  9. Affected versionversion=bdbe6fbc6a2f2ccfb384b141b257677d2a8d36fb <b25b60d076164edb3025e85aabd2cf50a5215b91

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=2.6.30; version=bdbe6fbc6a2f2ccfb384b141b257677d2a8d36fb <06b7cb0194bd1ede0dd27f3a946e7c0279fba44a; version=bdbe6fbc6a2f2ccfb384b141b257677d2a8d36fb <1f79bc8ae81c05eb112a53f981cb2c244ee50d02; version=bdbe6fbc6a2f2ccfb384b141b257677d2a8d36fb <2038cd15eacdf7512755c27686822e0052eb9042; version=bdbe6fbc6a2f2ccfb384b141b257677d2a8d36fb <423c6939758fb3b9cf5abbd1e7792068a5c4ae8c; version=bdbe6fbc6a2f2ccfb384b141b257677d2a8d36fb <49bfcbfd989a8f1f23e705759a6bb099de2cff9f; version=bdbe6fbc6a2f2ccfb384b141b257677d2a8d36fb <5946fbf48355f5a8caeff72580c7658da5966b86; version=bdbe6fbc6a2f2ccfb384b141b257677d2a8d36fb <8c3ec88b03e9e4ca117dcdc4204fd3edcd02084f; version=bdbe6fbc6a2f2ccfb384b141b257677d2a8d36fb <b25b60d076164edb3025e85aabd2cf50a5215b91

Published CVSS scores

5.5Amazon LinuxCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
5.5UbuntuCVSS: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
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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