# CVE-2021-46967: vhost-vdpa: fix vm_flags for virtqueue doorbell mapping

> A missing flag in the Linux kernel vhost-vdpa driver causes a kernel panic when userspace maps the doorbell, leading to denial of service.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **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:** 5 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2021-46967, GHSA-2prc-4f47-p38v, UBUNTU-CVE-2021-46967

## What is CVE-2021-46967?

CVE-2021-46967 is a high-severity 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:

vhost-vdpa: fix vm_flags for virtqueue doorbell mapping

The virtqueue doorbell is usually implemented via registeres but we
don't provide the necessary vma->flags like VM_PFNMAP. This may cause
several issues e.g when userspace tries to map the doorbell via vhost
IOTLB, kernel may panic due to the page is not backed by page
structure. This patch fixes this by setting the necessary
vm_flags. With this patch, try to map doorbell via IOTLB will fail
with bad address.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-46967?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-46967?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2021-46967 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-46967 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-2021-46967 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-46967 is a high-severity 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-2021-46967 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-2021-46967/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-46967/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-46967
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-46967
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-46967

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-46967/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.