CVE-2021-3490

HIGH

Linux eBPF ALU32 32-bit Invalid Bounds Tracking LPE

Title source: metasploit
STIX 2.1

Exploitation Summary

EIP tracks 5 public exploits for CVE-2021-3490. PoCs published by chompie1337, pivik271, prabeershakya, including Metasploit module exploits/linux/local/cve_2021_3490_ebpf_alu32_bounds_check_lpe.

AI-analyzed exploit summary This repository contains a functional local privilege escalation (LPE) exploit for CVE-2021-3490, leveraging eBPF map operations to achieve arbitrary kernel memory read/write and ultimately overwrite credentials for root access. The exploit is tested on specific Ubuntu kernel versions and includes detailed technical implementation.

Description

The eBPF ALU32 bounds tracking for bitwise ops (AND, OR and XOR) in the Linux kernel did not properly update 32-bit bounds, which could be turned into out of bounds reads and writes in the Linux kernel and therefore, arbitrary code execution. This issue was fixed via commit 049c4e13714e ("bpf: Fix alu32 const subreg bound tracking on bitwise operations") (v5.13-rc4) and backported to the stable kernels in v5.12.4, v5.11.21, and v5.10.37. The AND/OR issues were introduced by commit 3f50f132d840 ("bpf: Verifier, do explicit ALU32 bounds tracking") (5.7-rc1) and the XOR variant was introduced by 2921c90d4718 ("bpf:Fix a verifier failure with xor") ( 5.10-rc1).

Exploits (5)

nomisec WORKING POC 312 stars
by chompie1337 · poc
https://github.com/chompie1337/Linux_LPE_eBPF_CVE-2021-3490

This repository contains a functional local privilege escalation (LPE) exploit for CVE-2021-3490, leveraging eBPF map operations to achieve arbitrary kernel memory read/write and ultimately overwrite credentials for root access. The exploit is tested on specific Ubuntu kernel versions and includes detailed technical implementation.

Classification
Working Poc 100%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Complex
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Linux Kernel (Ubuntu 20.04.02, 20.10, 21.04)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Linux kernel with vulnerable eBPF implementation (5.8.0-25.26 through 5.8.0-52.58 or 5.11.0-16.17) · Local user access
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 2 stars
by pivik271 · poc
https://github.com/pivik271/CVE-2021-3490

This repository contains a functional exploit for CVE-2021-3490, leveraging eBPF ALU32 bounds tracking flaws to achieve arbitrary read/write in the Linux kernel, leading to privilege escalation. The exploit uses crafted BPF instructions to trigger out-of-bounds memory access and manipulate kernel structures.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Complex
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Linux kernel (specific versions affected by CVE-2021-3490)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Linux kernel with vulnerable eBPF verifier · Ability to load BPF programs
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by prabeershakya · poc
https://github.com/prabeershakya/CVE-2021-3490-POC

This repository contains a functional local privilege escalation (LPE) exploit for CVE-2021-3490, leveraging eBPF map operations to achieve arbitrary kernel memory read/write. The exploit targets Ubuntu 20.04 with kernel 5.8.0-50-generic and includes detailed setup instructions.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Complex
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Linux Kernel (Ubuntu 20.04, kernel 5.8.0-50-generic)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: unprivileged_bpf_disabled=0 · specific kernel version (5.8.0-50-generic) · build-essential and libelf-dev installed
devstral-2 · analyzed Mar 04, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WRITEUP
by sandesh9978 · poc
https://github.com/sandesh9978/cve-2021-3490-ebpf-analysis

This repository provides a technical analysis and educational demonstration of CVE-2021-3490, focusing on eBPF verifier bounds tracking. It includes a C implementation that interacts with the Linux kernel's eBPF subsystem, demonstrating BPF map creation, syscall usage, and namespace setup, but does not include an automated exploit payload.

Classification
Writeup 95%
Attack Type
Other
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Theoretical
Target: Linux kernel (eBPF subsystem)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Linux kernel 5.8.0-48-generic or similar vulnerable version · Ubuntu 20.10 or similar environment
devstral-2 · analyzed Mar 04, 2026 Full analysis →
metasploit WORKING POC GREAT
by Manfred Paul, chompie1337, Grant Willcox · rubypoc
https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/linux/local/cve_2021_3490_ebpf_alu32_bounds_check_lpe.rb

This Metasploit module exploits CVE-2021-3490, a vulnerability in the Linux kernel's eBPF verifier that allows local privilege escalation (LPE) due to improper bounds tracking in ALU32 operations. It achieves arbitrary code execution as root by leveraging out-of-bounds read/write in the kernel.

Classification
Working Poc 100%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Complex
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Linux kernel versions 5.7-rc1 to 5.13-rc4, 5.12.4, 5.11.21, and 5.10.37
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Unprivileged BPF loading enabled (kernel.unprivileged_bpf_disabled not set) · eBPF support in kernel · x86_64 architecture
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →

References (7)

Core 7
Core References
Third Party Advisory vendor-advisory x_refsource_ubuntu
https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-4950-1
Third Party Advisory vendor-advisory x_refsource_ubuntu
https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-4949-1
Mailing List, Patch, Third Party Advisory mailing-list x_refsource_mlist
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/05/11/11
Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry x_refsource_misc
https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-21-606/
Third Party Advisory x_refsource_confirm
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20210716-0004/

Scores

CVSS v3 7.8
EPSS 0.2748
EPSS Percentile 97.8%
Attack Vector LOCAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Details

CWE
CWE-125 CWE-20 CWE-787
Status published
Products (5)
canonical/ubuntu_linux 20.04
canonical/ubuntu_linux 20.10
canonical/ubuntu_linux 21.04
linux/linux_kernel 5.13 (4 CPE variants)
linux/linux_kernel 5.10 - 5.10.37
Published Jun 04, 2021
Tracked Since Feb 18, 2026