Kernel memory leak on failed CPPC initialization
Published May 21, 2024 · Updated May 11, 2026
Memory leak in the CPPC CPUFreq driver in Linux allows attackers to cause kernel memory consumption through policy initialization failures. The cppc_cpufreq_cpu_init function adds allocated per-policy data to a list but, on unsupported coordination types or cppc_set_perf errors, returns without deleting the list node or freeing its CPU mask and allocation. Reachability requires the CPPC scaling driver and a policy initialization error; the public record identifies no attacker-controlled way to induce that error and documents no resulting crash.
Summary
What happened
Memory leak in the CPPC CPUFreq driver in Linux allows attackers to cause kernel memory consumption through policy initialization failures. The cppc_cpufreq_cpu_init function adds allocated per-policy data to a list but, on unsupported coordination types or cppc_set_perf errors, returns without deleting the list node or freeing its CPU mask and allocation. Reachability requires the CPPC scaling driver and a policy initialization error; the public record identifies no attacker-controlled way to induce that error and documents no resulting crash.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2021-47313
- Published
- May 21, 2024
- Updated
- May 11, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-400
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 21, 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?
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- Affected versionversion=5.11
- Affected versionversion=a28b2bfc099c6b9caa6ef697660408e076a32019 <b775383355755885b19d2acef977f1ca132e80a3
- Affected versionversion=a28b2bfc099c6b9caa6ef697660408e076a32019 <e1b2b2b61d30d7ce057ec17237c217d152ed97f2
- Affected versionversion=a28b2bfc099c6b9caa6ef697660408e076a32019 <fe2535a44904a77615a3af8e8fd7dafb98fb0e1b
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What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
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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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