# CVE-2021-47262: KVM: x86: Ensure liveliness of nested VM-Enter fail tracepoint message

> A use-after-free in the Linux kernel KVM tracepoint can cause a system crash when vendor modules are unloaded.

- **Severity:** High 7.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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:** 21 May 2024
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2021-47262, GHSA-9fqj-w3wf-p8vf, UBUNTU-CVE-2021-47262

## What is CVE-2021-47262?

CVE-2021-47262 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 21 May 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:

KVM: x86: Ensure liveliness of nested VM-Enter fail tracepoint message

Use the __string() machinery provided by the tracing subystem to make a
copy of the string literals consumed by the "nested VM-Enter failed"
tracepoint.  A complete copy is necessary to ensure that the tracepoint
can't outlive the data/memory it consumes and deference stale memory.

Because the tracepoint itself is defined by kvm, if kvm-intel and/or
kvm-amd are built as modules, the memory holding the string literals
defined by the vendor modules will be freed when the module is unloaded,
whereas the tracepoint and its data in the ring buffer will live until
kvm is unloaded (or "indefinitely" if kvm is built-in).

This bug has existed since the tracepoint was added, but was recently
exposed by a new check in tracing to detect exactly this type of bug.

  fmt: '%s%s
  ' current_buffer: ' vmx_dirty_log_t-140127  [003] ....  kvm_nested_vmenter_failed: '
  WARNING: CPU: 3 PID: 140134 at kernel/trace/trace.c:3759 trace_check_vprintf+0x3be/0x3e0
  CPU: 3 PID: 140134 Comm: less Not tainted 5.13.0-rc1-ce2e73ce600a-req #184
  Hardware name: ASUS Q87M-E/Q87M-E, BIOS 1102 03/03/2014
  RIP: 0010:trace_check_vprintf+0x3be/0x3e0
  Code: <0f> 0b 44 8b 4c 24 1c e9 a9 fe ff ff c6 44 02 ff 00 49 8b 97 b0 20
  RSP: 0018:ffffa895cc37bcb0 EFLAGS: 00010282
  RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: ffffa895cc37bd08 RCX: 0000000000000027
  RDX: 0000000000000027 RSI: 00000000ffffdfff RDI: ffff9766cfad74f8
  RBP: ffffffffc0a041d4 R08: ffff9766cfad74f0 R09: ffffa895cc37bad8
  R10: 0000000000000001 R11: 0000000000000001 R12: ffffffffc0a041d4
  R13: ffffffffc0f4dba8 R14: 0000000000000000 R15: ffff976409f2c000
  FS:  00007f92fa200740(0000) GS:ffff9766cfac0000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000
  CS:  0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033
  CR2: 0000559bd11b0000 CR3: 000000019fbaa002 CR4: 00000000001726e0
  Call Trace:
   trace_event_printf+0x5e/0x80
   trace_raw_output_kvm_nested_vmenter_failed+0x3a/0x60 [kvm]
   print_trace_line+0x1dd/0x4e0
   s_show+0x45/0x150
   seq_read_iter+0x2d5/0x4c0
   seq_read+0x106/0x150
   vfs_read+0x98/0x180
   ksys_read+0x5f/0xe0
   do_syscall_64+0x40/0xb0
   entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xae

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-47262?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-47262?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2021-47262 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-47262 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-2021-47262 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-47262 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 21 May 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-2021-47262 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-2021-47262/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-47262/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-47262
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-47262
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-47262

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-47262/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.