How severe is CVE-2021-4093?

CVE-2021-4093 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.8, rated high severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2021-4093 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (34th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2021-4093?

CVE-2021-4093 primarily affects Redhat Enterprise Linux. In total, 5 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2021-4093?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

When was CVE-2021-4093 published?

CVE-2021-4093 was published on 2022-02-18 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2021-4093

CVE-2021-4093 is a high-severity vulnerability in Redhat Enterprise Linux with a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.8. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-125.

Key facts

Severity: High (CVSS 3.x base score 8.8)
CVSS v2: 7.2
EPSS exploit prediction: 0% (34th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-125
Affected product: Redhat Enterprise Linux
Published: 2022-02-18
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

A flaw was found in the KVM's AMD code for supporting the Secure Encrypted Virtualization-Encrypted State (SEV-ES). A KVM guest using SEV-ES can trigger out-of-bounds reads and writes in the host kernel via a malicious VMGEXIT for a string I/O instruction (for example, outs or ins) using the exit reason SVM_EXIT_IOIO. This issue results in a crash of the entire system or a potential guest-to-host escape scenario.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-4093?: A flaw was found in the KVM's AMD code for supporting the Secure Encrypted Virtualization-Encrypted State (SEV-ES). A KVM guest using SEV-ES can trigger out-of-bounds reads and writes in the host kernel via a malicious VMGEXIT for a string I/O instruction (for example, outs or ins) using the exit reason SVM_EXIT_IOIO. This issue results in a crash of the entire system or a potential guest-to-host escape scenario.
How severe is CVE-2021-4093?: CVE-2021-4093 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.8, rated high severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2021-4093 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (34th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2021-4093?: CVE-2021-4093 primarily affects Redhat Enterprise Linux. In total, 5 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2021-4093?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2021-4093 published?: CVE-2021-4093 was published on 2022-02-18 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (5)

cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:35:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:20.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:21.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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