# CVE-2021-47497: nvmem: Fix shift-out-of-bound (UBSAN) with byte size cells

> A shift-out-of-bounds error in the Linux kernel nvmem driver can cause a crash when reading specific byte-sized cells.

- **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:** 22 May 2024
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2021-47497, GHSA-vgjx-6ccw-c3f6, UBUNTU-CVE-2021-47497

## What is CVE-2021-47497?

CVE-2021-47497 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 22 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:

nvmem: Fix shift-out-of-bound (UBSAN) with byte size cells

If a cell has 'nbits' equal to a multiple of BITS_PER_BYTE the logic

 *p &= GENMASK((cell->nbits%BITS_PER_BYTE) - 1, 0);

will become undefined behavior because nbits modulo BITS_PER_BYTE is 0, and we
subtract one from that making a large number that is then shifted more than the
number of bits that fit into an unsigned long.

UBSAN reports this problem:

 UBSAN: shift-out-of-bounds in drivers/nvmem/core.c:1386:8
 shift exponent 64 is too large for 64-bit type 'unsigned long'
 CPU: 6 PID: 7 Comm: kworker/u16:0 Not tainted 5.15.0-rc3+ #9
 Hardware name: Google Lazor (rev3+) with KB Backlight (DT)
 Workqueue: events_unbound deferred_probe_work_func
 Call trace:
  dump_backtrace+0x0/0x170
  show_stack+0x24/0x30
  dump_stack_lvl+0x64/0x7c
  dump_stack+0x18/0x38
  ubsan_epilogue+0x10/0x54
  __ubsan_handle_shift_out_of_bounds+0x180/0x194
  __nvmem_cell_read+0x1ec/0x21c
  nvmem_cell_read+0x58/0x94
  nvmem_cell_read_variable_common+0x4c/0xb0
  nvmem_cell_read_variable_le_u32+0x40/0x100
  a6xx_gpu_init+0x170/0x2f4
  adreno_bind+0x174/0x284
  component_bind_all+0xf0/0x264
  msm_drm_bind+0x1d8/0x7a0
  try_to_bring_up_master+0x164/0x1ac
  __component_add+0xbc/0x13c
  component_add+0x20/0x2c
  dp_display_probe+0x340/0x384
  platform_probe+0xc0/0x100
  really_probe+0x110/0x304
  __driver_probe_device+0xb8/0x120
  driver_probe_device+0x4c/0xfc
  __device_attach_driver+0xb0/0x128
  bus_for_each_drv+0x90/0xdc
  __device_attach+0xc8/0x174
  device_initial_probe+0x20/0x2c
  bus_probe_device+0x40/0xa4
  deferred_probe_work_func+0x7c/0xb8
  process_one_work+0x128/0x21c
  process_scheduled_works+0x40/0x54
  worker_thread+0x1ec/0x2a8
  kthread+0x138/0x158
  ret_from_fork+0x10/0x20

Fix it by making sure there are any bits to mask out.

Weakness: CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-47497?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-47497?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2021-47497 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-47497 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-2021-47497 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-47497 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 22 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-2021-47497 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-2021-47497/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-47497/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-47497
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-47497
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-47497

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-47497/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.