# CVE-2021-46935: binder: fix async_free_space accounting for empty parcels

> A Linux kernel binder driver accounting error allows attackers to exhaust async_free_space via small transactions, causing denial of service.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 27 Feb 2024
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2021-46935, GHSA-x9rp-8j88-vh76, UBUNTU-CVE-2021-46935

## What is CVE-2021-46935?

CVE-2021-46935 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 27 Feb 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

binder: fix async_free_space accounting for empty parcels

In 4.13, commit 74310e06be4d ("android: binder: Move buffer out of area shared with user space")
fixed a kernel structure visibility issue. As part of that patch,
sizeof(void *) was used as the buffer size for 0-length data payloads so
the driver could detect abusive clients sending 0-length asynchronous
transactions to a server by enforcing limits on async_free_size.

Unfortunately, on the "free" side, the accounting of async_free_space
did not add the sizeof(void *) back. The result was that up to 8-bytes of
async_free_space were leaked on every async transaction of 8-bytes or
less.  These small transactions are uncommon, so this accounting issue
has gone undetected for several years.

The fix is to use "buffer_size" (the allocated buffer size) instead of
"size" (the logical buffer size) when updating the async_free_space
during the free operation. These are the same except for this
corner case of asynchronous transactions with payloads < 8 bytes.

Weakness: CWE-668 (Exposure of Resource to Wrong Sphere)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-46935?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-46935?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2021-46935 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-46935 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-46935 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-46935 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 27 Feb 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-46935 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. 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-2021-46935/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-46935/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-46935
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-46935
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-46935

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-46935/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.