CVE-2021-3493

HIGHNVD 8.89.0▲
EchelonGraph scoreHIGH confidence

Score elevated to 9.0 because this CVE is listed on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-10-20), indicating real-world exploitation has been confirmed by US federal agencies. NVD baseline CVSS 8.8 retained for reference. Confidence: HIGH.

Triggered by: CISA KEV (actively exploited)
Sources: cisa_kev, epss, ghsa, nvd
Trending — 5 sources updated this weekExploited in the wild
8.8
EchelonGraph verdictPatch nowTreat as an emergency — this is being exploited.
  • Actively exploited in the wild (CISA-KEV)
CISA-KEV: ExploitedEPSS: 44%CVSS: 8.8Exploit: NoneExposed: 0

A fix is available — apply it.

The overlayfs implementation in the linux kernel did not properly validate with respect to user namespaces the setting of file capabilities on files in an underlying file system. Due to the combination of unprivileged user namespaces along with a patch carried in the Ubuntu kernel to allow unprivileged overlay mounts, an attacker could use this to gain elevated privileges.

CVSS v3
8.8
EG Score
9.0(high)
EPSS
98.6%
KEV
⚠ Exploited

Published

April 17, 2021

Last Modified

October 28, 2025

Advisory Details (6)

Auto-updated Jun 2, 2026
Patch available. Sources: ubuntu.
generic

vfs: move cap_convert_nscap() call into vfs_setxattr() - kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git - Linux kernel source tree

https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=7c03e2cda4a584cadc398e8f6641ca9988a39d52
generic

Packet Storm

http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/165151/Ubuntu-Overlayfs-Local-Privilege-Escalation.html
generic

Packet Storm

http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/162866/Ubuntu-OverlayFS-Local-Privilege-Escalation.html
generic

Packet Storm

http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/162434/Kernel-Live-Patch-Security-Notice-LSN-0076-1.html
generic

oss-security - [CVE-2021-3493] Ubuntu Linux kernel overlayfs fs caps privilege escalation

https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/04/16/1
ubuntu Patch Available

USN-4917-1: Linux kernel vulnerabilities | Ubuntu security notices | Ubuntu

https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-4917-1

Patch Availability(4)

Vendor / EcosystemFixed in / PatchReleasedSource
ubuntulinux-image-oem-20.04 (5.6.0.1054.50) @ focal2026-07-21ubuntu
ubuntulinux-image-virtual-hwe-16.04-edge (4.15.0.142.129) @ bionic2026-07-21ubuntu
ubuntulinux-image-virtual-hwe-20.04-edge (5.8.0.50.55) @ groovy2026-07-21ubuntu
ubuntugkeop (5.4.0-1009) @ focal2026-07-21ubuntu

Patches are aggregated from vendor advisories (Red Hat, Microsoft, Cisco, GitHub) and package ecosystems (OSV, GHSA). Multiple rows for the same upstream release have been deduplicated.

Weakness Classification(3)

MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.

All Vendor Advisories

(4)

Every vendor that published an advisory referencing this CVE — pulled from our cve_vendor_advisories aggregation. Click any row for the vendor's original advisory page.

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 85× in last 7d / 350× 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.

Showing the most recent 100 of 632 total refreshes for this CVE.

  1. 2026-07-21 12:54 UTCGHSA enrichment
  2. 2026-07-21 08:53 UTCGHSA enrichment
  3. 2026-07-21 04:54 UTCVendor advisory
  4. 2026-07-21 04:54 UTCGHSA enrichment
  5. 2026-07-21 00:54 UTCVendor advisory
  6. 2026-07-21 00:54 UTCGHSA enrichment
  7. 2026-07-20 20:54 UTCEG score recompute
  8. 2026-07-20 20:54 UTCVendor advisory
  9. 2026-07-20 20:54 UTCGHSA enrichment
  10. 2026-07-20 17:05 UTCEPSS rescore
  11. 2026-07-20 16:55 UTCVendor advisory
  12. 2026-07-20 16:55 UTCGHSA enrichment
  13. 2026-07-20 12:56 UTCVendor advisory
  14. 2026-07-20 12:56 UTCGHSA enrichment
  15. 2026-07-20 08:57 UTCVendor advisory
  16. 2026-07-20 08:57 UTCGHSA enrichment
  17. 2026-07-20 04:59 UTCVendor advisory
  18. 2026-07-20 04:58 UTCGHSA enrichment
  19. 2026-07-20 01:00 UTCVendor advisory
  20. 2026-07-19 21:00 UTCVendor advisory
  21. 2026-07-19 21:00 UTCGHSA enrichment
  22. 2026-07-19 17:01 UTCEG score recompute
  23. 2026-07-19 17:01 UTCVendor advisory
  24. 2026-07-19 17:01 UTCGHSA enrichment
  25. 2026-07-19 14:29 UTCEPSS rescore
Show 75 more
  1. 2026-07-19 13:02 UTCVendor advisory
  2. 2026-07-19 13:02 UTCGHSA enrichment
  3. 2026-07-19 09:03 UTCVendor advisory
  4. 2026-07-19 09:03 UTCGHSA enrichment
  5. 2026-07-19 05:03 UTCGHSA enrichment
  6. 2026-07-19 01:04 UTCVendor advisory
  7. 2026-07-19 01:04 UTCGHSA enrichment
  8. 2026-07-18 21:04 UTCVendor advisory
  9. 2026-07-18 21:04 UTCGHSA enrichment
  10. 2026-07-18 17:05 UTCVendor advisory
  11. 2026-07-18 17:05 UTCGHSA enrichment
  12. 2026-07-18 13:06 UTCEG score recompute
  13. 2026-07-18 13:06 UTCVendor advisory
  14. 2026-07-18 13:06 UTCGHSA enrichment
  15. 2026-07-18 10:02 UTCEPSS rescore
  16. 2026-07-18 10:02 UTCEPSS rescore
  17. 2026-07-18 09:05 UTCGHSA enrichment
  18. 2026-07-18 05:06 UTCGHSA enrichment
  19. 2026-07-18 01:05 UTCVendor advisory
  20. 2026-07-18 01:05 UTCGHSA enrichment
  21. 2026-07-17 21:06 UTCVendor advisory
  22. 2026-07-17 21:06 UTCGHSA enrichment
  23. 2026-07-17 17:06 UTCGHSA enrichment
  24. 2026-07-17 13:07 UTCGHSA enrichment
  25. 2026-07-17 09:08 UTCEG score recompute
  26. 2026-07-17 09:08 UTCGHSA enrichment
  27. 2026-07-17 05:09 UTCGHSA enrichment
  28. 2026-07-17 01:10 UTCGHSA enrichment
  29. 2026-07-16 21:11 UTCVendor advisory
  30. 2026-07-16 21:11 UTCGHSA enrichment
  31. 2026-07-16 17:11 UTCGHSA enrichment
  32. 2026-07-16 17:04 UTCCISA KEV update
  33. 2026-07-16 17:00 UTCEPSS rescore
  34. 2026-07-16 17:00 UTCEPSS rescore
  35. 2026-07-16 13:11 UTCVendor advisory
  36. 2026-07-16 13:11 UTCGHSA enrichment
  37. 2026-07-16 09:12 UTCVendor advisory
  38. 2026-07-16 09:12 UTCGHSA enrichment
  39. 2026-07-16 05:12 UTCVendor advisory
  40. 2026-07-16 05:12 UTCGHSA enrichment
  41. 2026-07-16 01:14 UTCVendor advisory
  42. 2026-07-16 01:14 UTCGHSA enrichment
  43. 2026-07-15 21:15 UTCVendor advisory
  44. 2026-07-15 21:14 UTCGHSA enrichment
  45. 2026-07-15 17:15 UTCGHSA enrichment
  46. 2026-07-15 16:55 UTCEPSS rescore
  47. 2026-07-15 16:55 UTCEPSS rescore
  48. 2026-07-15 16:49 UTCCISA KEV update
  49. 2026-07-15 15:04 UTCCISA KEV update
  50. 2026-07-15 13:16 UTCGHSA enrichment
  51. 2026-07-15 09:17 UTCGHSA enrichment
  52. 2026-07-15 05:18 UTCGHSA enrichment
  53. 2026-07-15 01:19 UTCVendor advisory
  54. 2026-07-15 01:19 UTCGHSA enrichment
  55. 2026-07-14 21:20 UTCVendor advisory
  56. 2026-07-14 21:20 UTCGHSA enrichment
  57. 2026-07-14 18:05 UTCCISA KEV update
  58. 2026-07-14 17:20 UTCGHSA enrichment
  59. 2026-07-14 13:21 UTCVendor advisory
  60. 2026-07-14 13:21 UTCGHSA enrichment
  61. 2026-07-14 09:22 UTCVendor advisory
  62. 2026-07-14 09:22 UTCGHSA enrichment
  63. 2026-07-14 05:22 UTCVendor advisory
  64. 2026-07-14 05:22 UTCGHSA enrichment
  65. 2026-07-14 01:23 UTCVendor advisory
  66. 2026-07-14 01:23 UTCGHSA enrichment
  67. 2026-07-13 22:27 UTCEPSS rescore
  68. 2026-07-13 22:27 UTCEPSS rescore
  69. 2026-07-13 21:24 UTCGHSA enrichment
  70. 2026-07-13 17:25 UTCVendor advisory
  71. 2026-07-13 17:25 UTCGHSA enrichment
  72. 2026-07-13 17:07 UTCCISA KEV update
  73. 2026-07-13 13:26 UTCVendor advisory
  74. 2026-07-13 13:26 UTCGHSA enrichment
  75. 2026-07-13 09:27 UTCVendor advisory

Publicly available exploits

(5 references)

Working exploit code is in the public domain (1 Metasploit module) (4 GitHub PoCs). Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly — public PoCs typically lead to mass-exploitation within 24-72 hours.

  • GitHub PoCpuckiestyle/CVE-2021-3493
    First seen Oct 2, 2021
    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCinspiringz/CVE-2021-3493
    First seen Jul 7, 2021

    CVE-2021-3493 Ubuntu OverlayFS Local Privesc (Interactive Bash Shell & Execute Command Entered)

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoConeoy/CVE-2021-3493
    First seen Apr 22, 2021
    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCbriskets/CVE-2021-3493
    First seen Apr 19, 2021

    Ubuntu OverlayFS Local Privesc

    Open source ↗
  • Metasploitexploit/linux/local/cve_2021_3493_overlayfs✓ verified
    First seen Apr 12, 2021

    2021 Ubuntu Overlayfs LPE

    Open source ↗

Related CVEs(same vendor + same CWE)

Frequently asked(6)

What is CVE-2021-3493?
CVE-2021-3493 is a high vulnerability published on April 17, 2021. The overlayfs implementation in the linux kernel did not properly validate with respect to user namespaces the setting of file capabilities on files in an underlying file system. Due to the combination of unprivileged user namespaces along with a patch carried in the Ubuntu kernel to allow…
When was CVE-2021-3493 disclosed?
CVE-2021-3493 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on April 17, 2021, with the most recent update on October 28, 2025. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2021-3493 actively exploited?
Yes. CISA added CVE-2021-3493 to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on October 20, 2022, affecting Linux Kernel. KEV listing indicates confirmed exploitation in the wild; this CVE warrants immediate patching attention.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-3493?
CVE-2021-3493 has a CVSS v3 base score of 8.8 (NVD). EchelonGraph synthesises NVD + CISA KEV + FIRST EPSS + GHSA into a combined EG score of 9.0.
Which products are affected by CVE-2021-3493?
CVE-2021-3493 affects Linux Kernel. The full affected-products list, including version ranges and fixed versions, is shown in the Affected Packages section of this page.
How do I remediate CVE-2021-3493?
Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2021-3493, EchelonGraph cross-links them in the Vendor Advisories panel below — those typically contain the canonical remediation steps, fixed version numbers, and any vendor-specific mitigations.

Dependency Blast Radius

Explore the affected products and dependency analysis for CVE-2021-3493

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