What is CVE-2021-38160?

CVE-2021-38160 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux Kernel, classified under Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input (Classic Buffer Overflow). CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2021-08-07.

How severe is CVE-2021-38160?

High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.

Is CVE-2021-38160 known to be exploited?

2 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

Buffer overflow in Linux Kernel

CVE-2021-38160

In drivers/char/virtio_console.c in the Linux kernel before 5.13.4, data corruption or loss can be triggered by an untrusted device that supplies a buf->len value exceeding the buffer size. NOTE: the vendor indicates that the cited data corruption is not a vulnerability in any existing use case; the length validation was added solely for robustness in the face of anomalous host OS behavior

Vulnerability class: Buffer Overflow

Published 2021-08-07 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.004 (34.0th percentile), scored 2026-10-20.

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 34th percentile — 34.0% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.004 · newest: 0.004 · change: +0.000

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-120 — Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input (Classic Buffer Overflow)

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/d00d8da5869a2608e97cfede094dfc5e11462a46 (Patch, Third Party Advisory)
cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v5.x/ChangeLog-5.13.4 (Release Notes, Vendor Advisory)
access.redhat.com/security/cve/cve-2021-38160 (Third Party Advisory)
security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20210902-0010/ (Third Party Advisory)
www.debian.org/security/2021/dsa-4978 (vendor-advisory, Third Party Advisory)
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/10/msg00010.html (mailing-list, Third Party Advisory)
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/12/msg00012.html (mailing-list, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-38160?: CVE-2021-38160 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux Kernel, classified under Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input (Classic Buffer Overflow). CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2021-08-07.
How severe is CVE-2021-38160?: High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.
Is CVE-2021-38160 known to be exploited?: 2 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.