# CVE-2021-47561: i2c: virtio: disable timeout handling

> A use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's virtio I2C driver allows attackers to cause memory corruption or denial of service via timeout handling.

- **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:** 24 May 2024
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2021-47561, UBUNTU-CVE-2021-47561

## What is CVE-2021-47561?

CVE-2021-47561 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 24 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:

i2c: virtio: disable timeout handling

If a timeout is hit, it can result is incorrect data on the I2C bus
and/or memory corruptions in the guest since the device can still be
operating on the buffers it was given while the guest has freed them.

Here is, for example, the start of a slub_debug splat which was
triggered on the next transfer after one transfer was forced to timeout
by setting a breakpoint in the backend (rust-vmm/vhost-device):

 BUG kmalloc-1k (Not tainted): Poison overwritten
 First byte 0x1 instead of 0x6b
 Allocated in virtio_i2c_xfer+0x65/0x35c age=350 cpu=0 pid=29
 	__kmalloc+0xc2/0x1c9
 	virtio_i2c_xfer+0x65/0x35c
 	__i2c_transfer+0x429/0x57d
 	i2c_transfer+0x115/0x134
 	i2cdev_ioctl_rdwr+0x16a/0x1de
 	i2cdev_ioctl+0x247/0x2ed
 	vfs_ioctl+0x21/0x30
 	sys_ioctl+0xb18/0xb41
 Freed in virtio_i2c_xfer+0x32e/0x35c age=244 cpu=0 pid=29
 	kfree+0x1bd/0x1cc
 	virtio_i2c_xfer+0x32e/0x35c
 	__i2c_transfer+0x429/0x57d
 	i2c_transfer+0x115/0x134
 	i2cdev_ioctl_rdwr+0x16a/0x1de
 	i2cdev_ioctl+0x247/0x2ed
 	vfs_ioctl+0x21/0x30
 	sys_ioctl+0xb18/0xb41

There is no simple fix for this (the driver would have to always create
bounce buffers and hold on to them until the device eventually returns
the buffers), so just disable the timeout support for now.

Weakness: CWE-416 (Use After Free)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-47561?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-47561?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2021-47561 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-47561 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-2021-47561 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-47561 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 24 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-2021-47561 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-2021-47561/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-47561/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-47561
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-47561
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-47561

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-47561/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.