# CVE-2021-47292: io_uring: fix memleak in io_init_wq_offload()

> A memory leak in the Linux kernel io_uring subsystem allows local attackers to exhaust system memory, causing 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:** 21 May 2024
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-mrm7-vh23-g98v, UBUNTU-CVE-2021-47292

## What is CVE-2021-47292?

CVE-2021-47292 is a medium-severity memory corruption 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:

io_uring: fix memleak in io_init_wq_offload()

I got memory leak report when doing fuzz test:

BUG: memory leak
unreferenced object 0xffff888107310a80 (size 96):
comm "syz-executor.6", pid 4610, jiffies 4295140240 (age 20.135s)
hex dump (first 32 bytes):
01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
00 00 00 00 ad 4e ad de ff ff ff ff 00 00 00 00 .....N..........
backtrace:
[<000000001974933b>] kmalloc include/linux/slab.h:591 [inline]
[<000000001974933b>] kzalloc include/linux/slab.h:721 [inline]
[<000000001974933b>] io_init_wq_offload fs/io_uring.c:7920 [inline]
[<000000001974933b>] io_uring_alloc_task_context+0x466/0x640 fs/io_uring.c:7955
[<0000000039d0800d>] __io_uring_add_tctx_node+0x256/0x360 fs/io_uring.c:9016
[<000000008482e78c>] io_uring_add_tctx_node fs/io_uring.c:9052 [inline]
[<000000008482e78c>] __do_sys_io_uring_enter fs/io_uring.c:9354 [inline]
[<000000008482e78c>] __se_sys_io_uring_enter fs/io_uring.c:9301 [inline]
[<000000008482e78c>] __x64_sys_io_uring_enter+0xabc/0xc20 fs/io_uring.c:9301
[<00000000b875f18f>] do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:50 [inline]
[<00000000b875f18f>] do_syscall_64+0x3b/0x90 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80
[<000000006b0a8484>] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xae

CPU0                          CPU1
io_uring_enter                io_uring_enter
io_uring_add_tctx_node        io_uring_add_tctx_node
__io_uring_add_tctx_node      __io_uring_add_tctx_node
io_uring_alloc_task_context   io_uring_alloc_task_context
io_init_wq_offload            io_init_wq_offload
hash = kzalloc                hash = kzalloc
ctx->hash_map = hash          ctx->hash_map = hash <- one of the hash is leaked

When calling io_uring_enter() in parallel, the 'hash_map' will be leaked,
add uring_lock to protect 'hash_map'.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-47292?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-47292?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2021-47292 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-47292 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-2021-47292 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-47292 is a medium-severity memory corruption 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-2021-47292 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-2021-47292/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-47292/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-47292
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-47292
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-47292

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-47292/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.
