CVE-2021-4115

Name: CVE-2021-4115
Creator: NVD / NIST
Published: 2022-02-21T22:15:07.743+00:00
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

MEDIUMCVSS 5.5/10EPSS 0.53%

Last modified Jun 17, 2026

CVE-2021-4115 is a medium-severity vulnerability rated 5.5/10 on the CVSS scale. There is a flaw in polkit which can allow an unprivileged user to cause polkit to crash, due to process file descriptor exhaustion. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to availability. EPSS estimates a 0.53% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Description

There is a flaw in polkit which can allow an unprivileged user to cause polkit to crash, due to process file descriptor exhaustion. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to availability. NOTE: Polkit process outage duration is tied to the failing process being reaped and a new one being spawned

Metrics

CVSS 3.1

5.5/10

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

EPSS Probability

0.53%

40.7th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

CWE-400

Affected Software

Vendor	Product	Versions
Polkit Project	Polkit	0.117
Redhat	Enterprise Linux	8.0
Fedoraproject	Fedora	34
Fedoraproject	Fedora	35
Canonical	Ubuntu Linux	20.04
Canonical	Ubuntu Linux	21.10
Debian	Debian Linux	11.0
Oracle	Zfs Storage Appliance Kit	8.8

References

http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/172849/polkit-File-Descriptor-Exhaustion.html
https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/cve-2021-4115Third Party Advisory
https://gitlab.com/redhat/centos-stream/rpms/polkit/-/merge_requests/6/diffs?commit_id=bf900df04dc390d389e59aa10942b0f2b15c531ePatch, Third Party Advisory
https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/polkit/polkit/-/issues/141Exploit, Issue Tracking, Patch, Third Party Advisory
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/VGKWCBS6IDZYYDYM2WIWJM5BL7QQTWPF/
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujul2022.htmlPatch, Third Party Advisory
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/172849/polkit-File-Descriptor-Exhaustion.html
https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/cve-2021-4115Third Party Advisory
https://gitlab.com/redhat/centos-stream/rpms/polkit/-/merge_requests/6/diffs?commit_id=bf900df04dc390d389e59aa10942b0f2b15c531ePatch, Third Party Advisory
https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/polkit/polkit/-/issues/141Exploit, Issue Tracking, Patch, Third Party Advisory
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/VGKWCBS6IDZYYDYM2WIWJM5BL7QQTWPF/
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujul2022.htmlPatch, Third Party Advisory

Timeline

Published: Feb 21, 2022
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Modified

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-4115?

How severe is CVE-2021-4115?

CVE-2021-4115 has a CVSS score of 5.5/10 (MEDIUM severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.53% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2021-4115?

Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.

Are you affected by CVE-2021-4115?

Run a free Strix scan to check your systems for this vulnerability.

Scan your code now

Source: NVD / NIST