# CVE-2021-47370: mptcp: ensure tx skbs always have the MPTCP ext

> A signed/unsigned comparison error in the Linux kernel MPTCP module can cause a kernel warning and potential denial of service.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2021-47370, GHSA-6xc5-7hvv-v7jc, UBUNTU-CVE-2021-47370

## What is CVE-2021-47370?

CVE-2021-47370 is a medium-severity 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:

mptcp: ensure tx skbs always have the MPTCP ext

Due to signed/unsigned comparison, the expression:

	info->size_goal - skb->len > 0

evaluates to true when the size goal is smaller than the
skb size. That results in lack of tx cache refill, so that
the skb allocated by the core TCP code lacks the required
MPTCP skb extensions.

Due to the above, syzbot is able to trigger the following WARN_ON():

WARNING: CPU: 1 PID: 810 at net/mptcp/protocol.c:1366 mptcp_sendmsg_frag+0x1362/0x1bc0 net/mptcp/protocol.c:1366
Modules linked in:
CPU: 1 PID: 810 Comm: syz-executor.4 Not tainted 5.14.0-syzkaller #0
Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 01/01/2011
RIP: 0010:mptcp_sendmsg_frag+0x1362/0x1bc0 net/mptcp/protocol.c:1366
Code: ff 4c 8b 74 24 50 48 8b 5c 24 58 e9 0f fb ff ff e8 13 44 8b f8 4c 89 e7 45 31 ed e8 98 57 2e fe e9 81 f4 ff ff e8 fe 43 8b f8 <0f> 0b 41 bd ea ff ff ff e9 6f f4 ff ff 4c 89 e7 e8 b9 8e d2 f8 e9
RSP: 0018:ffffc9000531f6a0 EFLAGS: 00010216
RAX: 000000000000697f RBX: 0000000000000000 RCX: ffffc90012107000
RDX: 0000000000040000 RSI: ffffffff88eac9e2 RDI: 0000000000000003
RBP: ffff888078b15780 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000000
R10: ffffffff88eac017 R11: 0000000000000000 R12: ffff88801de0a280
R13: 0000000000006b58 R14: ffff888066278280 R15: ffff88803c2fe9c0
FS:  00007fd9f866e700(0000) GS:ffff8880b9d00000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000
CS:  0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033
CR2: 00007faebcb2f718 CR3: 00000000267cb000 CR4: 00000000001506e0
DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000
DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400
Call Trace:
 __mptcp_push_pending+0x1fb/0x6b0 net/mptcp/protocol.c:1547
 mptcp_release_cb+0xfe/0x210 net/mptcp/protocol.c:3003
 release_sock+0xb4/0x1b0 net/core/sock.c:3206
 sk_stream_wait_memory+0x604/0xed0 net/core/stream.c:145
 mptcp_sendmsg+0xc39/0x1bc0 net/mptcp/protocol.c:1749
 inet6_sendmsg+0x99/0xe0 net/ipv6/af_inet6.c:643
 sock_sendmsg_nosec net/socket.c:704 [inline]
 sock_sendmsg+0xcf/0x120 net/socket.c:724
 sock_write_iter+0x2a0/0x3e0 net/socket.c:1057
 call_write_iter include/linux/fs.h:2163 [inline]
 new_sync_write+0x40b/0x640 fs/read_write.c:507
 vfs_write+0x7cf/0xae0 fs/read_write.c:594
 ksys_write+0x1ee/0x250 fs/read_write.c:647
 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:50 [inline]
 do_syscall_64+0x35/0xb0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80
 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xae
RIP: 0033:0x4665f9
Code: ff ff c3 66 2e 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 0f 1f 40 00 48 89 f8 48 89 f7 48 89 d6 48 89 ca 4d 89 c2 4d 89 c8 4c 8b 4c 24 08 0f 05 <48> 3d 01 f0 ff ff 73 01 c3 48 c7 c1 bc ff ff ff f7 d8 64 89 01 48
RSP: 002b:00007fd9f866e188 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: 0000000000000001
RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 000000000056c038 RCX: 00000000004665f9
RDX: 00000000000e7b78 RSI: 0000000020000000 RDI: 0000000000000003
RBP: 00000000004bfcc4 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000000
R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000000000000246 R12: 000000000056c038
R13: 0000000000a9fb1f R14: 00007fd9f866e300 R15: 0000000000022000

Fix the issue rewriting the relevant expression to avoid
sign-related problems - note: size_goal is always >= 0.

Additionally, ensure that the skb in the tx cache always carries
the relevant extension.

Weakness: CWE-697 (Incorrect Comparison)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-47370?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-47370?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2021-47370 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-47370 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-2021-47370 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-47370 is a medium-severity 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-2021-47370 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-2021-47370/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-47370/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-47370
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-47370
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-47370

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-47370/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.