# CVE-2021-46993: sched: Fix out-of-bound access in uclamp

> An out-of-bounds memory access in the Linux kernel scheduler allows attackers to potentially execute code or cause a system crash.

- **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:** 28 Feb 2024
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2021-46993, GHSA-gwvc-g8fg-56vx, UBUNTU-CVE-2021-46993

## What is CVE-2021-46993?

CVE-2021-46993 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 28 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:

sched: Fix out-of-bound access in uclamp

Util-clamp places tasks in different buckets based on their clamp values
for performance reasons. However, the size of buckets is currently
computed using a rounding division, which can lead to an off-by-one
error in some configurations.

For instance, with 20 buckets, the bucket size will be 1024/20=51. A
task with a clamp of 1024 will be mapped to bucket id 1024/51=20. Sadly,
correct indexes are in range [0,19], hence leading to an out of bound
memory access.

Clamp the bucket id to fix the issue.

Weakness: CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-46993?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-46993?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2021-46993 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-46993 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-2021-46993 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-46993 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 28 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-2021-46993 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-2021-46993/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-46993/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-46993
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-46993
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-46993

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-46993/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.