# CVE-2021-47214: hugetlb, userfaultfd: fix reservation restore on userfaultfd error

> A logic error in the Linux kernel's hugetlb subsystem causes a memory reservation leak, potentially leading to resource exhaustion and denial of service.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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:** 10 Apr 2024
- **Updated:** 23 May 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2021-47214, GHSA-rr47-vpr9-84rm, UBUNTU-CVE-2021-47214

## What is CVE-2021-47214?

CVE-2021-47214 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 10 Apr 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:

hugetlb, userfaultfd: fix reservation restore on userfaultfd error

Currently in the is_continue case in hugetlb_mcopy_atomic_pte(), if we
bail out using "goto out_release_unlock;" in the cases where idx >=
size, or !huge_pte_none(), the code will detect that new_pagecache_page
== false, and so call restore_reserve_on_error().  In this case I see
restore_reserve_on_error() delete the reservation, and the following
call to remove_inode_hugepages() will increment h->resv_hugepages
causing a 100% reproducible leak.

We should treat the is_continue case similar to adding a page into the
pagecache and set new_pagecache_page to true, to indicate that there is
no reservation to restore on the error path, and we need not call
restore_reserve_on_error().  Rename new_pagecache_page to
page_in_pagecache to make that clear.

Weakness: CWE-401 (Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-47214?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-47214?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2021-47214 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-47214 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-2021-47214 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-47214 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 10 Apr 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-2021-47214 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-2021-47214/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-47214/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-47214
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-47214
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-47214

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-47214/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.