A heap out-of-bounds write affecting Linux since v2.6.19-rc1 was discovered in net/netfilter/x_tables.c. This allows an attacker to gain privileges or cause a DoS (via heap memory corruption) through user name space
CVE-2021-22555
“▲” beside the score: it is higher than NVD's CVSS score.
Score elevated to 9.0 because this CVE is listed on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2025-10-06), indicating real-world exploitation has been confirmed by US federal agencies. NVD baseline CVSS 7.8 retained for reference. The 9.0 is the floor for confirmed exploitation, not an impact rating: this CVE's impact severity (EG Severity) is CVSS 7.8 HIGH under NVD CVSS v3. Confidence: HIGH.
Also known asEUVD-2021-9696 (ENISA EUVD)Source: ENISA EUVD
- Actively exploited in the wild (CISA-KEV) — the reason this is sooner than the SSVC decision on this page at low or medium mission impact
A fix is available — apply it.
- CVSS v3
- 7.8
- EG Score
- 9.0CRITICALhigh confidence
- EG Risk
- 75EG Risk 75/100
EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score. It fuses impact severity (EG Severity, the CVSS base score, never the KEV-floored or EPSS-lifted EG Score) with real-world exploitation and automatability, under weights EchelonGraph set by hand, so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner.
How it’s computed (value × EchelonGraph’s weight)Severity78% × 45%Impact severity (EG Severity): CVSS 7.8 of 10. Never the KEV-floored or EPSS-lifted EG Score.Exploitation100% × 40%Fixed at 100% for a CISA KEV listing: EchelonGraph's rule.Automatability0% × 15%CISA's SSVC Automatable value: no (Vulnrichment).SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph): Track at low, Attend at medium and Act at high mission impact.Exploitation active (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact total (CISA Vulnrichment). All three are CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment). EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE.Action: A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines at low, sooner than that at medium and as soon as possible at high mission impact. - EPSS PROB
- 79%
- EPSS %ILE
- 99th
- KEV
- ⚠ Exploited
What the EG score is made of (scorer v4.0: the three questions the 0–10 score mixes, published apart · methodology)
The EG score (9.0): severity, escalated by confirmed exploitation. This CVE's 9.0 is the CISA KEV floor for confirmed exploitation, not an impact rating: its impact severity (EG Severity) is CVSS 7.8 HIGH.
- EG Severity
- 7.8 HIGHCVSS-B, impact only: no KEV listing, EPSS or EG-KEV tier raises it.NVD CVSS v3 · CVSS v3.0 or v3.1
- EG Likelihood
- 79% within 30 daysSource: FIRST EPSS (model v2026.06.15, score date 2026-11-01). FIRST's exploitation probability, not an EchelonGraph model.
- Confirmed exploitation
- CISA KEV and EG-KEV Tier 1 (exploited in the wild)Reported apart from the likelihood: an observed fact, not a probability.
- EG Priority
- SSVC Attend at medium mission impactTrack at low, Attend at medium and Act at high mission impact.CISA BOD 26-04: 3 days & forensic triage if the affected system is publicly exposed; 14 days if it is not.Each input and its source, and whom BOD 26-04 binds: the SSVC and BOD 26-04 blocks below.
SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph)Track at low, Attend at medium and Act at high mission impact.
A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines at low, sooner than that at medium and as soon as possible at high mission impact.
Exploitation active (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact total (CISA Vulnrichment). All three are CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment). EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE. Mission impact is CISA's Mission & Well-being decision point, and only you can judge it. CISA's table makes it high when Mission Prevalence is Essential — the vulnerable component "directly provides capabilities that constitute at least one MEF for at least one entity" (MEF: mission essential function) — or when Public Well-Being Impact is Irreversible: "multiple fatalities are likely", the cyber-physical system "is likely lost or destroyed", "extreme or serious externalities" are imposed on other parties, or social systems such as elections or the financial grid "are destabilized and potentially collapse". CISA's decision table
BOD 26-04 (CISA's remediation timeline, Table 1)3 days & forensic triage if the affected system is publicly exposed; 14 days if it is not.
The score's inputs: In CISA KEV yes (CISA's KEV catalog) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact total (CISA Vulnrichment). Whether your system is publicly exposed is yours to answer. BOD 26-04 binds US Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies; for anyone else it is CISA's published timeline, a reference rather than an obligation. The directive · how EchelonGraph applies it
CISA required action“Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.”
Quoted verbatim from CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. CISA directs it at US federal civilian executive branch agencies under Binding Operational Directive (BOD) 26-04, which replaced BOD 22-01 on 10 June 2026; it is not EchelonGraph's advice. CISA's notes: https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/net/netfilter/x_tables.c?id=9fa492cdc160cd27ce1046cb36f47d3b2b1efa21 · https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/net/netfilter/x_tables.c?id=b29c457a6511435960115c0f548c4360d5f4801d · https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20210805-0010/ · https://github.com/google/security-research/security/advisories/GHSA-xxx5-8mvq-3528 · https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-22555
Published
July 7, 2021
Last Modified
October 13, 2026
Advisory Details (9)
Auto-updated Oct 28, 2026Packet Storm
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/163528/Linux-Kernel-Netfilter-Heap-Out-Of-Bounds-Write.htmlLinux: Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in xt_compat_target_from_user · Advisory · google/security-research · GitHub
https://github.com/google/security-research/security/advisories/GHSA-xxx5-8mvq-3528netfilter: x_tables: fix compat match/target pad out-of-bound write - kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git - Linux kernel source tree
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/net/netfilter/x_tables.c?id=b29c457a6511435960115c0f548c4360d5f4801d[NETFILTER]: x_tables: simplify compat API - kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git - Linux kernel source tree
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/net/netfilter/x_tables.c?id=9fa492cdc160cd27ce1046cb36f47d3b2b1efa21Packet Storm
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/165477/Kernel-Live-Patch-Security-Notice-LSN-0083-1.htmlPacket Storm
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/164437/Netfilter-x_tables-Heap-Out-Of-Bounds-Write-Privilege-Escalation.htmlVendor Advisories for CVE-2021-22555(20)
These vendors published their own advisory mentioning this CVE — often with vendor-specific remediation steps + affected product lists not in NVD.
- RHSA-2025:17733Red Hat Product SecurityHigh
Red Hat Security Advisory: kernel security update
- RHSA-2021:3812Red Hat Product SecurityHigh
Red Hat Security Advisory: kernel security update
- RHSA-2021:3814Red Hat Product SecurityHigh
Red Hat Security Advisory: kpatch-patch security update
- RHSA-2021:3725Red Hat Product SecurityHigh
Red Hat Security Advisory: kernel security and bug fix update
- RHSA-2021:3523Red Hat Product SecurityHigh
Red Hat Security Advisory: kpatch-patch security update
- RHSA-2021:3522Red Hat Product SecurityHigh
Red Hat Security Advisory: kernel security and bug fix update
- RHSA-2021:3477Red Hat Product SecurityHigh
Red Hat Security Advisory: RHV-H security update (redhat-virtualization-host) 4.3.18
- RHSA-2021:3399Red Hat Product SecurityHigh
Red Hat Security Advisory: kernel security and bug fix update
- +12 more
Patch Availability(19)
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.
Affected Packages
(4 across 4 ecosystems)
Debian:11(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| linux | — |
| — |
Debian:12(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| linux | — |
| — |
Debian:13(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| linux | — |
| — |
Debian:14(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fix by version range | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| linux | — |
| — |
Weakness Classification(1)
MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.
Additional Vendor Advisories
(5)
Vendors that published advisories for this CVE beyond the curated set above. Broader coverage but minimal per-row detail — click through for the original advisory.
Data Freshness Timeline
(refreshed 15× in last 7d / 114× in last 30d)
Each row is a time one of our pipelines fetched, updated or re-scored this CVE. 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. An arrow marks a change the record states ("CVSS v3 → 9.1"); EPSS and GHSA rows show the values recorded at that time, not what changed (EPSS values are rounded; hover one for the exact figures). Most recent first.
Showing the most recent 100 of 1,010 refreshes on record for this CVE.
A repeat, a row identical to one the same pipeline wrote less than 10 seconds earlier, is not a separate refresh and is not counted. None are among the latest 100 rows. The 910 oldest rows on record are not shown and were not checked, so the counts can still include repeats.
- 2026-11-01 22:50 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-11-01 22:50 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-31 21:18 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-31 21:18 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-30 19:45 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-30 19:45 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-30 16:29 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 79% · 99th percentile
- 2026-10-29 18:12 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-29 18:12 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-29 16:29 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 79% · 99th percentile
- 2026-10-28 16:40 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-28 16:40 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-27 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 79% · 99th percentile
- 2026-10-27 15:05 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-27 15:05 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-26 16:27 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 79% · 99th percentile
- 2026-10-26 13:30 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-25 18:34 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-25 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 79% · 99th percentile
- 2026-10-25 11:55 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-25 11:55 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-24 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 79% · 99th percentile
- 2026-10-24 10:22 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-24 10:22 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-23 08:49 UTCEG score recompute
Show 75 moreShow fewer
- 2026-10-23 08:49 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-22 16:29 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 79% · 99th percentile
- 2026-10-22 07:15 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-22 07:15 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-21 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 79% · 99th percentile
- 2026-10-21 05:43 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-21 05:43 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-20 04:10 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-20 04:10 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-19 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 79% · 99th percentile
- 2026-10-19 02:33 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-19 02:33 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-18 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 79% · 99th percentile
- 2026-10-18 09:10 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-18 01:01 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-18 01:01 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-17 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 79% · 99th percentile
- 2026-10-16 23:27 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-16 23:27 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-16 16:33 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 79% · 99th percentile
- 2026-10-15 21:54 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-15 21:54 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-14 20:20 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-14 20:20 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-14 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 79% · 99th percentile
- 2026-10-13 18:46 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-13 18:46 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-13 18:44 UTCNVD updateCVSS v3 → 7.8
- 2026-10-13 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 79% · 99th percentile
- 2026-10-13 08:36 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-12 19:24 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-12 07:01 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-12 02:45 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-11 22:31 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-11 22:31 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-11 18:17 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-11 18:17 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-11 14:01 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-11 14:01 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-11 09:47 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-11 05:34 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-11 01:17 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-10 21:02 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-10 16:45 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-10 12:30 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-10 08:16 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-10 04:02 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-09 23:48 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-09 23:48 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-09 20:04 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 79% · 99th percentile
- 2026-10-09 19:34 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-09 15:21 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-09 11:07 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-09 06:53 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-09 02:39 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-08 22:25 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-08 18:11 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-08 13:56 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-08 09:40 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-08 05:26 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-08 01:12 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-08 01:12 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-07 23:44 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 79% · 99th percentile
- 2026-10-07 20:58 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-07 16:44 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-07 12:28 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-07 08:13 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-07 03:58 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-06 23:44 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-06 19:31 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-06 15:17 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-06 11:02 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-06 06:48 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-06 02:33 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-10-05 22:19 UTCVendor advisory
Publicly available exploits
(6 references)Public exploit code is referenced for this CVE (1 Metasploit module, 1 Exploit-DB entry, 4 GitHub PoCs). Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly.
- Metasploitexploit/linux/local/netfilter_xtables_heap_oob_write_priv_esc✓ verifiedPublished Oct 6, 2021
Netfilter x_tables Heap OOB Write Privilege Escalation
Open source ↗ - Exploit-DBEDB-50135✓ verifiedPublished Jul 15, 2021
Linux Kernel 2.6.19 < 5.9 - 'Netfilter Local Privilege Escalation
Open source ↗ - GitHub PoCtukru/CVE-2021-22555Published Aug 5, 2023
This repo hosts TUKRU's Linux Privilege Escalation exploit (CVE-2021-22555). It demonstrates gaining root privileges via a vulnerability. Tested on Ubuntu 5.8.0-48-generic and COS 5.4.89+. Use responsibly and ethically.
Open source ↗ - GitHub PoCveritas501/CVE-2021-22555-PipeVersionPublished Apr 5, 2022
CVE-2021-22555 exploit rewritten with pipe primitive
Open source ↗ - Open source ↗GitHub PoCcgwalters/container-cve-2021-22555Published Jul 16, 2021
- GitHub PoCxyjl-ly/CVE-2021-22555-ExploitPublished Jul 16, 2021
CVE-2021-22555 Exploit
Open source ↗
Related CVEs(same vendor + same CWE)
Same vendor
10 shownredhat:RHSA-2021:3173 · redhat:RHSA-2021:3044 · redhat:RHSA-2021:3812
Frequently asked(6)
What is CVE-2021-22555?
When was CVE-2021-22555 made public?
Is CVE-2021-22555 actively exploited?
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-22555?
Which products are affected by CVE-2021-22555?
How do I remediate CVE-2021-22555?
Dependency Blast Radius
See which npm, PyPI, Go, and Maven packages are affected by CVE-2021-22555
Is Your Infrastructure Affected by CVE-2021-22555?
EchelonGraph automatically scans your cloud infrastructure and maps CVE exposure using blast radius analysis.