Threats / Linux / CVE-2021-22555
CVE-2021-22555
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-06-22
Linux Kernel vulnerability
Linux Kernel heap out-of-bounds write vulnerability in user namespace handling allows privilege escalation or denial of service through heap memory corruption.
Verdict
Today item — known-exploited.
A heap buffer overflow in the Linux Kernel's user namespace implementation enables local attackers to corrupt memory, escalate privileges to root, or crash the system. Active exploitation in the wild increases risk.
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreExploit available
Public proof-of-concept exploit code is cataloged for this vulnerability.We link the existence of the exploit; we do not host or redistribute payloads.
Reported exploitation
6 independent public reports of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2025-10-06).
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.78684 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
Affected: Linux, Kernel. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-787 Out-of-bounds Write — weakness family: Memory safety.CWE assignment from the public NVD record; the weakness class drives how the flaw is exploited.
02
Who’s exploiting it?
— attribution turns risk into urgencyAttribution not established
No confirmed (advisory-backed) threat-actor attribution is established for this record. Absence of a named actor is not absence of compromise — see Coverage & confidence.
03
Why it matters
— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board1
Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1
Attacker
I craft a malicious user namespace configuration to trigger an out-of-bounds write in kernel heap memory.
Business
An unprivileged local user gains root-level code execution on affected systems.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
I exploit the heap corruption to overwrite kernel data structures and bypass security controls.
Business
Compromised systems face complete loss of confidentiality, integrity, and availability; attackers gain persistent control.
3
Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3
Attacker
I trigger the vulnerability repeatedly to cause kernel panic and system crash.
Business
Critical infrastructure and services experience unplanned downtime and operational disruption.
04
What to do
— defensible action- Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05
Coverage & confidence
— what we know, and what we don’tEstablished (cited)
Coverage gaps — stated, not hidden
Disclosure & credit2
Catalogued by GoogleCNA
Credited with finding itAndy Nguyenunspecified