The eBPF ALU32 bounds tracking for bitwise ops (AND, OR and XOR) in the Linux kernel did not properly update 32-bit bounds, which could be turned into out of bounds reads and writes in the Linux kernel and therefore, arbitrary code execution. This issue was fixed via commit 049c4e13714e ("bpf: Fix alu32 const subreg bound tracking on bitwise operations") (v5.13-rc4) and backported to the stable kernels in v5.12.4, v5.11.21, and v5.10.37. The AND/OR issues were introduced by commit 3f50f132d840 ("bpf: Verifier, do explicit ALU32 bounds tracking") (5.7-rc1) and the XOR variant was introduced by 2921c90d4718 ("bpf:Fix a verifier failure with xor") ( 5.10-rc1).
CVE-2021-3490
This high-severity CVE scores 7.8 under NVD CVSS v3. EPSS exploit probability: 27.5%, top 2% of all CVEs by exploit prediction. GitHub Security Advisory data not yet ingested — confidence will rise once GHSA publishes (typical lag: hours to days for open-source ecosystem CVEs; never for infrastructure-only CVEs).
- High severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet
No vendor fix yet — apply a workaround or compensating control (WAF / firewall / segmentation) and watch for a patch.
- CVSS v3
- 7.8
- EG Score
- 7.8(medium)
- EG Risk
- 66(Track)EG Risk 66/100SSVC: Track
EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).
How it’s computedSeverity78% × 45%Exploitation65% × 40%Automatability30% × 15%Action: Routine — remediate on your standard cadence. - EPSS
- 97.9%
- KEV
- Not listed
Published
June 4, 2021
Last Modified
November 21, 2024
References (14)
- security@ubuntuhttp://packetstormsecurity.com/files/164015/Linux-eBPF-ALU32-32-bit-Invalid-Bounds-Tracking-Local-Privilege-Escalation.html
- security@ubuntuhttps://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/bpf/bpf.git/commit/?id=049c4e13714ecbca567b4d5f6d563f05d431c80e
- security@ubuntuhttps://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20210716-0004/
- security@ubuntuhttps://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-4949-1
- security@ubuntuhttps://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-4950-1
- security@ubuntuhttps://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/05/11/11
- security@ubuntuhttps://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-21-606/
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/164015/Linux-eBPF-ALU32-32-bit-Invalid-Bounds-Tracking-Local-Privilege-Escalation.html
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/bpf/bpf.git/commit/?id=049c4e13714ecbca567b4d5f6d563f05d431c80e
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20210716-0004/
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-4949-1
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-4950-1
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/05/11/11
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-21-606/
Weakness Classification(3)
MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.
Data Freshness Timeline
(refreshed 12× in last 7d / 45× in last 30d)
Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.
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Publicly available exploits
(3 references)Working exploit code is in the public domain (1 Metasploit module) (2 GitHub PoCs). Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly — public PoCs typically lead to mass-exploitation within 24-72 hours.
- Open source ↗GitHub PoCpivik271/CVE-2021-3490First seen Apr 6, 2023
- Open source ↗GitHub PoCchompie1337/Linux_LPE_eBPF_CVE-2021-3490First seen Jun 24, 2021
- Metasploitexploit/linux/local/cve_2021_3490_ebpf_alu32_bounds_check_lpe✓ verifiedFirst seen May 11, 2021
Linux eBPF ALU32 32-bit Invalid Bounds Tracking LPE
Open source ↗
Related CVEs(same CWE)
Same CWE
10 shownCWE-20 · CWE-125 · CWE-787
Frequently asked(5)
What is CVE-2021-3490?
When was CVE-2021-3490 disclosed?
Is CVE-2021-3490 actively exploited?
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-3490?
How do I remediate CVE-2021-3490?
Dependency Blast Radius
Explore the affected products and dependency analysis for CVE-2021-3490
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