# CVE-2021-47300: bpf: Fix tail_call_reachable rejection for interpreter when jit failed

> A flaw in the Linux kernel BPF interpreter causes a slab-out-of-bounds read when JIT compilation fails, leading to a system crash.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 21 May 2024
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2021-47300, GHSA-w5h4-c4xx-3r8p, UBUNTU-CVE-2021-47300

## What is CVE-2021-47300?

CVE-2021-47300 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 21 May 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

bpf: Fix tail_call_reachable rejection for interpreter when jit failed

During testing of f263a81451c1 ("bpf: Track subprog poke descriptors correctly
and fix use-after-free") under various failure conditions, for example, when
jit_subprogs() fails and tries to clean up the program to be run under the
interpreter, we ran into the following freeze:

  [...]
  #127/8 tailcall_bpf2bpf_3:FAIL
  [...]
  [   92.041251] BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in ___bpf_prog_run+0x1b9d/0x2e20
  [   92.042408] Read of size 8 at addr ffff88800da67f68 by task test_progs/682
  [   92.043707]
  [   92.044030] CPU: 1 PID: 682 Comm: test_progs Tainted: G   O   5.13.0-53301-ge6c08cb33a30-dirty #87
  [   92.045542] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.13.0-1ubuntu1 04/01/2014
  [   92.046785] Call Trace:
  [   92.047171]  ? __bpf_prog_run_args64+0xc0/0xc0
  [   92.047773]  ? __bpf_prog_run_args32+0x8b/0xb0
  [   92.048389]  ? __bpf_prog_run_args64+0xc0/0xc0
  [   92.049019]  ? ktime_get+0x117/0x130
  [...] // few hundred [similar] lines more
  [   92.659025]  ? ktime_get+0x117/0x130
  [   92.659845]  ? __bpf_prog_run_args64+0xc0/0xc0
  [   92.660738]  ? __bpf_prog_run_args32+0x8b/0xb0
  [   92.661528]  ? __bpf_prog_run_args64+0xc0/0xc0
  [   92.662378]  ? print_usage_bug+0x50/0x50
  [   92.663221]  ? print_usage_bug+0x50/0x50
  [   92.664077]  ? bpf_ksym_find+0x9c/0xe0
  [   92.664887]  ? ktime_get+0x117/0x130
  [   92.665624]  ? kernel_text_address+0xf5/0x100
  [   92.666529]  ? __kernel_text_address+0xe/0x30
  [   92.667725]  ? unwind_get_return_address+0x2f/0x50
  [   92.668854]  ? ___bpf_prog_run+0x15d4/0x2e20
  [   92.670185]  ? ktime_get+0x117/0x130
  [   92.671130]  ? __bpf_prog_run_args64+0xc0/0xc0
  [   92.672020]  ? __bpf_prog_run_args32+0x8b/0xb0
  [   92.672860]  ? __bpf_prog_run_args64+0xc0/0xc0
  [   92.675159]  ? ktime_get+0x117/0x130
  [   92.677074]  ? lock_is_held_type+0xd5/0x130
  [   92.678662]  ? ___bpf_prog_run+0x15d4/0x2e20
  [   92.680046]  ? ktime_get+0x117/0x130
  [   92.681285]  ? __bpf_prog_run32+0x6b/0x90
  [   92.682601]  ? __bpf_prog_run64+0x90/0x90
  [   92.683636]  ? lock_downgrade+0x370/0x370
  [   92.684647]  ? mark_held_locks+0x44/0x90
  [   92.685652]  ? ktime_get+0x117/0x130
  [   92.686752]  ? lockdep_hardirqs_on+0x79/0x100
  [   92.688004]  ? ktime_get+0x117/0x130
  [   92.688573]  ? __cant_migrate+0x2b/0x80
  [   92.689192]  ? bpf_test_run+0x2f4/0x510
  [   92.689869]  ? bpf_test_timer_continue+0x1c0/0x1c0
  [   92.690856]  ? rcu_read_lock_bh_held+0x90/0x90
  [   92.691506]  ? __kasan_slab_alloc+0x61/0x80
  [   92.692128]  ? eth_type_trans+0x128/0x240
  [   92.692737]  ? __build_skb+0x46/0x50
  [   92.693252]  ? bpf_prog_test_run_skb+0x65e/0xc50
  [   92.693954]  ? bpf_prog_test_run_raw_tp+0x2d0/0x2d0
  [   92.694639]  ? __fget_light+0xa1/0x100
  [   92.695162]  ? bpf_prog_inc+0x23/0x30
  [   92.695685]  ? __sys_bpf+0xb40/0x2c80
  [   92.696324]  ? bpf_link_get_from_fd+0x90/0x90
  [   92.697150]  ? mark_held_locks+0x24/0x90
  [   92.698007]  ? lockdep_hardirqs_on_prepare+0x124/0x220
  [   92.699045]  ? finish_task_switch+0xe6/0x370
  [   92.700072]  ? lockdep_hardirqs_on+0x79/0x100
  [   92.701233]  ? finish_task_switch+0x11d/0x370
  [   92.702264]  ? __switch_to+0x2c0/0x740
  [   92.703148]  ? mark_held_locks+0x24/0x90
  [   92.704155]  ? __x64_sys_bpf+0x45/0x50
  [   92.705146]  ? do_syscall_64+0x35/0x80
  [   92.706953]  ? entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xae
  [...]

Turns out that the program rejection from e411901c0b77 ("bpf: allow for tailcalls
in BPF subprograms for x64 JIT") is buggy since env->prog->aux->tail_call_reachable
is never true. Commit ebf7d1f508a7 ("bpf, x64: rework pro/epilogue and tailcall
handling in JIT") added a tracker into check_max_stack_depth() which propagates
the tail_call_reachable condition throughout the subprograms. This info is then
assigned to the subprogram's 
---truncated---

Weakness: CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-47300?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-47300?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2021-47300 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-47300 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-47300 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-47300 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 21 May 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-47300 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-47300/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-47300/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-47300
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-47300
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-47300

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-47300/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.
