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linux — security advisory

Type: advisorySources: OSVAdvisory ID: DEBIAN-CVE-2021-4197

An unprivileged write to the file handler flaw in the Linux kernel's control groups and namespaces subsystem was found in the way users have access to some less privileged process that are controlled by cgroups and have higher privileged parent process. It is actually both for cgroup2 and cgroup1 versions of control groups. A local user could use this flaw to crash the system or escalate their privileges on the system.

Products
linux
Affected versions
Not specified
Fixed versions
5.15.15-1
CVEs
CVE-2021-4197
Confirmed fixed CVEs
Not specified
Updated in this feed
1 Nov 2026, 01:05 UTC · Revision 1

Source evidence

DEBIAN-CVE-2021-4197

core-osv · Original source

Published 23 Mar 2022, 20:15 UTC

An unprivileged write to the file handler flaw in the Linux kernel's control groups and namespaces subsystem was found in the way users have access to some less privileged process that are controlled by cgroups and have higher privileged parent process. It is actually both for cgroup2 and cgroup1 versions of control groups. A local user could use this flaw to crash the system or escalate their privileges on the system.

osv:DEBIAN-CVE-2021-4197

linux

Fixed versions: 5.15.15-1

linux

Fixed versions: 5.15.15-1

linux

Fixed versions: 5.15.15-1

Complete source record
{
  "id": "543a653e89b309c4f5a5d86c6bf3ae3c7a5bd7cda902894b8aa3ff0e5b538c23",
  "url": "https://osv.dev/vulnerability/DEBIAN-CVE-2021-4197",
  "method": "structured",
  "payload": {
    "kind": "advisory",
    "title": "DEBIAN-CVE-2021-4197",
    "summary": "An unprivileged write to the file handler flaw in the Linux kernel's control groups and namespaces subsystem was found in the way users have access to some less privileged process that are controlled by cgroups and have higher privileged parent process. It is actually both for cgroup2 and cgroup1 versions of control groups. A local user could use this flaw to crash the system or escalate their privileges on the system.",
    "evidence": "osv:DEBIAN-CVE-2021-4197",
    "products": [
      {
        "name": {
          "value": "linux",
          "evidence": "/affected/0/package/name"
        },
        "prerequisites": [],
        "fixed_versions": [
          {
            "value": "5.15.15-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/0/ranges"
          }
        ],
        "affected_versions": []
      },
      {
        "name": {
          "value": "linux",
          "evidence": "/affected/1/package/name"
        },
        "prerequisites": [],
        "fixed_versions": [
          {
            "value": "5.15.15-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/1/ranges"
          }
        ],
        "affected_versions": []
      },
      {
        "name": {
          "value": "linux",
          "evidence": "/affected/2/package/name"
        },
        "prerequisites": [],
        "fixed_versions": [
          {
            "value": "5.15.15-1",
            "evidence": "/affected/2/ranges"
          }
        ],
        "affected_versions": []
      }
    ],
    "severity": "high",
    "structured": {
      "id": "DEBIAN-CVE-2021-4197",
      "aliases": [
        "DEBIAN-CVE-2021-4197"
      ],
      "metrics": [
        {
          "type": "CVSS_V3",
          "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
        }
      ],
      "affected": [
        {
          "ranges": [
            {
              "type": "ECOSYSTEM",
              "events": [
                {
                  "introduced": "0"
                },
                {
                  "fixed": "5.15.15-1"
                }
              ]
            }
          ],
          "package": {
            "name": "linux",
            "purl": "pkg:deb/debian/linux?arch=source&distro=bookworm",
            "ecosystem": "Debian:12"
          },
          "database_specific": {
            "source": "https://storage.googleapis.com/debian-osv/debian-cve-osv/DEBIAN-CVE-2021-4197.json"
          },
          "ecosystem_specific": {
            "urgency": "not yet assigned"
          }
        },
        {
          "ranges": [
            {
              "type": "ECOSYSTEM",
              "events": [
                {
                  "introduced": "0"
                },
                {
                  "fixed": "5.15.15-1"
                }
              ]
            }
          ],
          "package": {
            "name": "linux",
            "purl": "pkg:deb/debian/linux?arch=source&distro=trixie",
            "ecosystem": "Debian:13"
          },
          "database_specific": {
            "source": "https://storage.googleapis.com/debian-osv/debian-cve-osv/DEBIAN-CVE-2021-4197.json"
          },
          "ecosystem_specific": {
            "urgency": "not yet assigned"
          }
        },
        {
          "ranges": [
            {
              "type": "ECOSYSTEM",
              "events": [
                {
                  "introduced": "0"
                },
                {
                  "fixed": "5.15.15-1"
                }
              ]
            }
          ],
          "package": {
            "name": "linux",
            "purl": "pkg:deb/debian/linux?arch=source&distro=forky",
            "ecosystem": "Debian:14"
          },
          "database_specific": {
            "source": "https://storage.googleapis.com/debian-osv/debian-cve-osv/DEBIAN-CVE-2021-4197.json"
          },
          "ecosystem_specific": {
            "urgency": "not yet assigned"
          }
        }
      ],
      "modified": "2026-10-23T18:04:15.791089674Z",
      "provider": "osv",
      "upstream": [
        "CVE-2021-4197"
      ],
      "references": [
        "https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2021-4197"
      ]
    },
    "related_cves": [
      {
        "value": "CVE-2021-4197",
        "evidence": "/upstream"
      }
    ],
    "security_relevant": true,
    "severity_evidence": "/severity/0/score"
  },
  "source_id": "core-osv",
  "document_id": 423045,
  "published_at": "2022-03-23T20:15:10.2+00:00"
}