Resource exhaustion in Linux Kernel

CVE-2021-20265

A flaw was found in the way memory resources were freed in the unix_stream_recvmsg function in the Linux kernel when a signal was pending. This flaw allows an unprivileged local user to crash the system by exhausting available memory. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to system availability.

Vulnerability class: DoS (Denial of Service)

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 5.5 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.003 (24.8th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 25th percentile — 24.8% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2021-20265: held from 0.003 to 0.003.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.003 · newest: 0.003 · change: 0.000

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-20265?
CVE-2021-20265 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux Kernel, classified under Uncontrolled Resource Consumption. CVSS score: 5.5/10. Published 2021-03-10.
How severe is CVE-2021-20265?
Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.5 out of 10.
Is CVE-2021-20265 known to be exploited?
1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.