CVE-2021-3491: Linux kernel io_uring PROVIDE_BUFFERS MAX_RW_COUNT bypass

Severity: high (CVSS 8.8 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.6% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2021-06-04 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-131

Description

The io_uring subsystem in the Linux kernel allowed the MAX_RW_COUNT limit to be bypassed in the PROVIDE_BUFFERS operation, which led to negative values being usedin mem_rw when reading /proc/<PID>/mem. This could be used to create a heap overflow leading to arbitrary code execution in the kernel. It was addressed via commit d1f82808877b ("io_uring: truncate lengths larger than MAX_RW_COUNT on provide buffers") (v5.13-rc1) and backported to the stable kernels in v5.12.4, v5.11.21, and v5.10.37. It was introduced in ddf0322db79c ("io_uring: add IORING_OP_PROVIDE_BUFFERS") (v5.7-rc1).

Affected products

Canonical Ubuntu Linux: 20.04, 20.10, 21.04
Linux kernel: from 5.7 before 5.10.37; from 5.11 before 5.11.21; from 5.12 before 5.12.4 — fixed in 5.10.37, 5.11.21, 5.12.4

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 5.10.37, 5.11.21, 5.12.4. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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