# CVE-2021-46828: Denial of service in n/a

> Remote attackers can exhaust file descriptors in processes using libtirpc, causing an infinite loop and denial of service.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 20 Jul 2022
- **Updated:** 14 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2021-46828, ALSA-2022:8400, DEBIAN-CVE-2021-46828, DLA-3071-1, DSA-5200-1, GHSA-x62c-6mxr-74fh, JLSEC-2026-1289, MGASA-2022-0288, OESA-2022-1795, RHBA-2022:2065, RHSA-2022:8400, RLSA-2022:8400, SUSE-SU-2022:2991-1, SUSE-SU-2022:3305-1, SUSE-SU-2022:3791-1, UBUNTU-CVE-2021-46828, USN-5538-1, openSUSE-SU-2024:12278-1

## What is CVE-2021-46828?

CVE-2021-46828 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 20 Jul 2022. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In libtirpc before 1.3.3rc1, remote attackers could exhaust the file descriptors of a process that uses libtirpc because idle TCP connections are mishandled. This can, in turn, lead to an svc_run infinite loop without accepting new connections.

Weakness: CWE-835 (Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition), CWE-755 (Improper Handling of Exceptional Conditions)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-46828?

It affects 2 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `libtirpc` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 1.3.3-0.el9 |
| `libtirpc-devel` | AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 1.3.3-0.el9 |
| `libtirpc` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:1.1.4-6.el8 |
| `libtirpc-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:1.1.4-6.el8 |
| `libtirpc-debugsource` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:1.1.4-6.el8 |
| `libtirpc-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:1.1.4-6.el8 |
| `libtirpc` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::baseos | All versions | 0:1.3.3-0.el9 |
| `libtirpc-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::baseos | All versions | 0:1.3.3-0.el9 |
| `libtirpc-debugsource` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::baseos | All versions | 0:1.3.3-0.el9 |
| `libtirpc-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::crb | All versions | 0:1.3.3-0.el9 |
| `libtirpc-debugsource` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::crb | All versions | 0:1.3.3-0.el9 |
| `libtirpc-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:9::crb | All versions | 0:1.3.3-0.el9 |
| `libtirpc` | Rocky Linux:9 | All versions | 0:1.3.3-0.el9 |
| `libtirpc` | SUSE:Enterprise Storage 6 | All versions | 1.0.2-150000.3.18.1 |
| `libtirpc` | SUSE:Enterprise Storage 7 | All versions | 1.0.2-150000.3.18.1 |
| `libtirpc` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP1-ESPOS | All versions | 1.0.2-150000.3.18.1 |
| `libtirpc` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP1-LTSS | All versions | 1.0.2-150000.3.18.1 |
| `libtirpc` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP2-ESPOS | All versions | 1.0.2-150000.3.18.1 |
| `libtirpc` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP2-LTSS | All versions | 1.0.2-150000.3.18.1 |
| `libtirpc` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15-ESPOS | All versions | 1.0.2-150000.3.18.1 |
| `libtirpc` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15-LTSS | All versions | 1.0.2-150000.3.18.1 |
| `libtirpc` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.1 | All versions | 1.2.6-150300.3.14.1 |
| `libtirpc` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.2 | All versions | 1.2.6-150300.3.14.1 |
| `libtirpc` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP3 | All versions | 1.2.6-150300.3.14.1 |
| `libtirpc` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP4 | All versions | 1.2.6-150300.3.14.1 |
| `libtirpc` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2-BCL | All versions | 1.0.1-17.24.1 |
| `libtirpc` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP3-BCL | All versions | 1.0.1-17.24.1 |
| `libtirpc` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4-LTSS | All versions | 1.0.1-17.24.1 |
| `libtirpc` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5 | All versions | 1.0.1-17.24.1 |
| `libtirpc` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1-BCL | All versions | 1.0.2-150000.3.18.1 |
| `libtirpc` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1-LTSS | All versions | 1.0.2-150000.3.18.1 |
| `libtirpc` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2-BCL | All versions | 1.0.2-150000.3.18.1 |
| `libtirpc` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2-LTSS | All versions | 1.0.2-150000.3.18.1 |
| `libtirpc` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15-LTSS | All versions | 1.0.2-150000.3.18.1 |
| `libtirpc` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP4 | All versions | 1.0.1-17.24.1 |
| `libtirpc` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP5 | All versions | 1.0.1-17.24.1 |
| `libtirpc` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 | All versions | 1.0.2-150000.3.18.1 |
| `libtirpc` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP1 | All versions | 1.0.2-150000.3.18.1 |
| `libtirpc` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP2 | All versions | 1.0.2-150000.3.18.1 |
| `libtirpc` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12 SP5 | All versions | 1.0.1-17.24.1 |

Products: Debian Debian Linux, Libtirpc Project Libtirpc.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-46828?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2021-46828 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-46828 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Debian Debian Linux

- [CVE-2015-3306](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-3306/): ProFTPD Improper Access Control (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-49113](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-49113/): RoundCube Webmail Deserialization of Untrusted Data (critical 9.9, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-24061](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-24061/): GNU InetUtils Argument Injection (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-39682](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-39682/): Linux Kernel Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-9680](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-9680/): Mozilla Firefox Use-After-Free (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-46828 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-46828 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 20 Jul 2022. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-46828 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Debian Debian Linux. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-46828/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-46828/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-46828
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-46828
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-46828

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-46828/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.
