CVE-2021-3493

HIGH KEV

2021 Ubuntu Overlayfs LPE

Title source: metasploit
STIX 2.1

Exploitation Summary

CVE-2021-3493 is actively exploited and listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, added October 20, 2022. EIP tracks 23 public exploits from researchers including briskets, inspiringz, oneoy, including a Metasploit module exploits/linux/local/gameoverlay_privesc.

AI-analyzed exploit summary This repository contains a functional exploit for CVE-2021-3493, an Ubuntu-specific OverlayFS vulnerability allowing local privilege escalation. The exploit leverages improper validation of file system capabilities in user namespaces to gain root privileges.

Description

The overlayfs implementation in the linux kernel did not properly validate with respect to user namespaces the setting of file capabilities on files in an underlying file system. Due to the combination of unprivileged user namespaces along with a patch carried in the Ubuntu kernel to allow unprivileged overlay mounts, an attacker could use this to gain elevated privileges.

Exploits (23)

nomisec WORKING POC 435 stars
by briskets · local
https://github.com/briskets/CVE-2021-3493

This repository contains a functional exploit for CVE-2021-3493, an Ubuntu-specific OverlayFS vulnerability allowing local privilege escalation. The exploit leverages improper validation of file system capabilities in user namespaces to gain root privileges.

Classification
Working Poc 100%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Ubuntu Linux kernel (OverlayFS) on versions 20.10, 20.04 LTS, 19.04, 18.04 LTS, 16.04 LTS, 14.04 ESM
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Local access to an affected Ubuntu system · Unprivileged user namespace access
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 39 stars
by inspiringz · local
https://github.com/inspiringz/CVE-2021-3493

This repository contains a functional exploit for CVE-2021-3493, an Ubuntu-specific OverlayFS vulnerability allowing local privilege escalation. The exploit leverages improper validation of file system capabilities in user namespaces to gain elevated privileges.

Classification
Working Poc 100%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Linux Kernel (Ubuntu-specific) with OverlayFS
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Local access to an affected Ubuntu system · OverlayFS support in the kernel
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 3 stars
by oneoy · local
https://github.com/oneoy/CVE-2021-3493

This repository contains a functional exploit for CVE-2021-3493, a local privilege escalation vulnerability in Ubuntu's OverlayFS implementation. The exploit leverages improper validation of file system capabilities in user namespaces to gain root privileges.

Classification
Working Poc 100%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Linux Kernel OverlayFS (Ubuntu-specific, versions 20.10, 20.04 LTS, 18.04 LTS, 16.04 LTS, 14.04 ESM)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Local access to the target system · Unprivileged user namespace access
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 1 stars
by fei9747 · local
https://github.com/fei9747/CVE-2021-3493

This repository contains a functional exploit for CVE-2021-3493, an Ubuntu-specific OverlayFS vulnerability allowing local privilege escalation. The exploit leverages improper validation of file system capabilities in user namespaces to gain root privileges.

Classification
Working Poc 100%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Linux kernel (Ubuntu-specific) with OverlayFS
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Local access to an affected Ubuntu system · Unprivileged user namespace access
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 1 stars
by cerodah · local
https://github.com/cerodah/overlayFS-CVE-2021-3493

This repository contains a functional exploit for CVE-2021-3493, an OverlayFS vulnerability in the Linux kernel that allows local privilege escalation to root. The exploit leverages user namespace and overlay filesystem manipulation to gain elevated privileges.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Linux kernel (OverlayFS module)
Auth required
Prerequisites: Local access to a vulnerable system · Ability to compile and execute C code · OverlayFS module loaded
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
github WORKING POC
by antinest · cpoc
https://github.com/antinest/CVEs/tree/main/Ubuntu OverlayFS - CVE-2021-3493

This exploit leverages CVE-2021-3493, a vulnerability in Ubuntu's OverlayFS, to achieve local privilege escalation by manipulating file capabilities in a user namespace. The code sets up an OverlayFS mount, copies a binary with elevated capabilities, and executes it to gain root access.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Ubuntu OverlayFS (specific versions affected by CVE-2021-3493)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: User namespace access · Ability to mount OverlayFS · Presence of vulnerable OverlayFS implementation
devstral-2 · analyzed Jun 05, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by iqbalhussainas · local
https://github.com/iqbalhussainas/OverlayFS-LPE-Exploit

This repository contains a functional exploit for CVE-2021-3493, an OverlayFS local privilege escalation vulnerability in the Ubuntu Linux kernel. The exploit leverages user namespace and OverlayFS to gain root access by manipulating file capabilities.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Linux kernel (OverlayFS)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: User namespace support · OverlayFS mounted · Unprivileged user access
devstral-2 · analyzed Apr 20, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by Psychopath-Traveler · local
https://github.com/Psychopath-Traveler/CVE-2021-3493

This repository contains a functional proof-of-concept exploit for CVE-2021-3493, a local privilege escalation vulnerability in Ubuntu's OverlayFS implementation. The exploit leverages incorrect handling of file capabilities in user namespaces to gain root privileges.

Classification
Working Poc 100%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Ubuntu Linux kernel (specific versions with unprivileged overlayfs mounts)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Vulnerable Ubuntu version (unpatched) · gcc for compilation · unprivileged user access
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 25, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by George-Yanni · local
https://github.com/George-Yanni/DeepRoot

This repository contains a functional exploit for CVE-2021-3493, which is a local privilege escalation vulnerability. The exploit provides multiple post-exploitation options, including SSH backdoor key injection, sudo backdoor installation, and persistence mechanisms.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Linux kernel (specific version not specified)
Auth required
Prerequisites: Local access to the target system · Compilation of the exploit code · Root SSH login enabled or ability to enable it
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 19, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by cyberx-1 · local
https://github.com/cyberx-1/OverlayFS-CVE-2021-3493

This repository contains a functional exploit for CVE-2021-3493, leveraging a vulnerability in the OverlayFS module in the Linux kernel to achieve local privilege escalation (LPE). The exploit manipulates file capabilities and user namespaces to gain root access.

Classification
Working Poc 100%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Linux kernel (OverlayFS module)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Local access to a vulnerable Linux system · OverlayFS module loaded
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 19, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by spideyctf · local
https://github.com/spideyctf/UbuntuTouchSecurityVAPTReport

The repository contains a functional proof-of-concept exploit for CVE-2021-3493, a Linux Kernel OverlayFS privilege escalation vulnerability. The exploit code is provided in C and includes detailed technical analysis of the vulnerability.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Linux Kernel OverlayFS (versions 3.13 through 5.11)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Local access to the vulnerable system · OverlayFS mounted
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by Sornphut · local
https://github.com/Sornphut/OverlayFS---CVE-2021-3493

This repository contains a functional exploit for CVE-2021-3493, which leverages a vulnerability in Ubuntu's OverlayFS to gain root privileges by bypassing capability checks in user namespaces. The exploit creates an OverlayFS mount, sets arbitrary capabilities on a binary, and executes it to escalate privileges.

Classification
Working Poc 100%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Linux Kernel OverlayFS (Ubuntu-specific)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Local access to an affected Ubuntu system · Unprivileged user namespace access
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WRITEUP
by fathallah17 · poc
https://github.com/fathallah17/OverlayFS-CVE-2021-3493

This repository provides a detailed writeup and step-by-step guide for exploiting CVE-2021-3493, a local privilege escalation vulnerability in the OverlayFS module of the Linux kernel. It includes instructions for compiling and running an exploit to gain root access on a vulnerable system.

Classification
Writeup 90%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Linux Kernel OverlayFS module
Auth required
Prerequisites: SSH access to the target machine · gcc compiler on the target machine
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by iamz24 · local
https://github.com/iamz24/CVE-2021-3493_CVE-2022-3357

This repository contains functional exploit code for CVE-2021-3493 (LPE via OverlayFS) and CVE-2022-3357 (RCE via PHP deserialization). The payload.c demonstrates privilege escalation, while demonPayload.php and popChain.php show a PHP object injection chain for remote code execution.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Lpe, Rce, Deserialization
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Linux kernel (OverlayFS), PHP applications
No auth needed
Prerequisites: OverlayFS enabled on target system · PHP application with vulnerable deserialization
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by ptkhai15 · local
https://github.com/ptkhai15/OverlayFS---CVE-2021-3493

This repository contains a functional exploit for CVE-2021-3493, an OverlayFS vulnerability in the Linux kernel. The exploit leverages user namespace and OverlayFS to gain root privileges by manipulating file capabilities.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Linux kernel (OverlayFS)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Unprivileged user access · OverlayFS support in the kernel · User namespace enabled
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by smallkill · local
https://github.com/smallkill/CVE-2021-3493

This exploit leverages CVE-2021-3493, a vulnerability in the Linux kernel's overlayfs module, to achieve local privilege escalation (LPE) by manipulating file capabilities in a user namespace. The exploit creates an overlayfs mount, copies the executable with elevated capabilities, and spawns a root shell.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Linux kernel (overlayfs module)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: User namespace access · Linux kernel with vulnerable overlayfs implementation
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by pmihsan · poc
https://github.com/pmihsan/OverlayFS-CVE-2021-3493

This exploit leverages CVE-2021-3493, a vulnerability in the OverlayFS module of the Linux kernel, to achieve local privilege escalation (LPE). It manipulates file capabilities via setxattr in a user namespace to gain root access.

Classification
Working Poc 100%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Linux kernel (OverlayFS module)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: User namespace access · OverlayFS support in the kernel
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by puckiestyle · poc
https://github.com/puckiestyle/CVE-2021-3493

This repository contains a functional exploit for CVE-2021-3493, an Ubuntu-specific OverlayFS local privilege escalation vulnerability. The exploit leverages improper validation of file system capabilities in user namespaces to gain elevated privileges.

Classification
Working Poc 100%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Linux Kernel (Ubuntu-specific) with OverlayFS
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Unprivileged user access on an affected Ubuntu system · OverlayFS support enabled in the kernel
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by derek-turing · local
https://github.com/derek-turing/CVE-2021-3493

This exploit leverages CVE-2021-3493, a vulnerability in the Linux kernel's overlayfs module, to achieve local privilege escalation (LPE) by manipulating file capabilities and user namespaces. The PoC creates an overlayfs mount, copies the executable with elevated capabilities, and spawns a root shell.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Linux kernel (overlayfs module)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Local access to a vulnerable Linux system · Overlayfs support enabled in the kernel
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by Abdennour-py · local
https://github.com/Abdennour-py/CVE-2021-3493

This repository contains a functional exploit for CVE-2021-3493, an Ubuntu-specific OverlayFS vulnerability allowing local privilege escalation. The exploit leverages improper validation of file system capabilities in user namespaces to gain root privileges.

Classification
Working Poc 100%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Linux Kernel (Ubuntu-specific) with OverlayFS
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Unprivileged user access · OverlayFS support in kernel · Ubuntu-specific patch present
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
metasploit WORKING POC
by g1vi, h00die, bwatters-r7, gardnerapp · rubypoc
https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/linux/local/gameoverlay_privesc.rb

This Metasploit module exploits CVE-2021-3493, a privilege escalation vulnerability in Ubuntu kernels due to unsafe overlayfs operations. It leverages the lack of proper sanitization of setuid capabilities in unioned directories to gain root access.

Classification
Working Poc 100%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Ubuntu Linux kernels (specific versions listed in the code)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Access to a vulnerable Ubuntu system with overlayfs support · Ability to execute commands as a non-root user
devstral-2 · analyzed Apr 23, 2026 Full analysis →
vulncheck_xdb WORKING POC
local
https://github.com/massco99/Analytics-htb-Rce

This repository contains a functional exploit for CVE-2023-38646 (Metabase RCE) and CVE-2021-3493 (OverlayFS LPE). The Python script exploits a command injection vulnerability in Metabase via crafted API requests, while the C exploit leverages OverlayFS to escalate privileges.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Rce, Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Metabase (CVE-2023-38646), Linux Kernel (CVE-2021-3493)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Metabase instance with exposed API · Linux system with vulnerable OverlayFS
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 25, 2026 Full analysis →
metasploit WORKING POC GREAT
by ssd-disclosure, bwatters-r7 · rubypoc
https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/linux/local/cve_2021_3493_overlayfs.rb

This Metasploit module exploits CVE-2021-3493, a local privilege escalation vulnerability in Ubuntu's overlayfs implementation. It leverages the failure to verify user capabilities when setting attributes on executable files, allowing an attacker to gain root privileges.

Classification
Working Poc 100%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Ubuntu with overlayfs (kernel versions 3.13 to 5.14)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Unprivileged user namespace enabled · Writable directory on target system
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →

References (7)

Core 7
Core References
Vendor Advisory x_refsource_misc
https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-4917-1
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory x_refsource_misc
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/04/16/1
Press/Media Coverage, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry x_refsource_misc
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/162866/Ubuntu-OverlayFS-Local-Privilege-Escalation.html

Scores

CVSS v3 8.8
EPSS 0.7996
EPSS Percentile 99.1%
Attack Vector LOCAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

CISA SSVC

Vulnrichment
Exploitation active
Automatable no
Technical Impact total

Details

CISA KEV 2022-10-20
VulnCheck KEV 2022-10-20
InTheWild.io 2022-09-06
ENISA EUVD EUVD-2021-26815
CWE
CWE-270 CWE-863
Status published
Products (2)
canonical/ubuntu_linux < 18.04
canonical/ubuntu_linux < 20.10
Published Apr 17, 2021
KEV Added Oct 20, 2022
Tracked Since Feb 18, 2026