# CVE-2021-47418: net_sched: fix NULL deref in fifo_set_limit()

> A local attacker can trigger a kernel crash via specific traffic control commands, causing a 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-2021-47418, GHSA-8p4f-x4p9-vv9j, UBUNTU-CVE-2021-47418

## What is CVE-2021-47418?

CVE-2021-47418 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:

net_sched: fix NULL deref in fifo_set_limit()

syzbot reported another NULL deref in fifo_set_limit() [1]

I could repro the issue with :

unshare -n
tc qd add dev lo root handle 1:0 tbf limit 200000 burst 70000 rate 100Mbit
tc qd replace dev lo parent 1:0 pfifo_fast
tc qd change dev lo root handle 1:0 tbf limit 300000 burst 70000 rate 100Mbit

pfifo_fast does not have a change() operation.
Make fifo_set_limit() more robust about this.

[1]
BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000000
PGD 1cf99067 P4D 1cf99067 PUD 7ca49067 PMD 0
Oops: 0010 [#1] PREEMPT SMP KASAN
CPU: 1 PID: 14443 Comm: syz-executor959 Not tainted 5.15.0-rc3-syzkaller #0
Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 01/01/2011
RIP: 0010:0x0
Code: Unable to access opcode bytes at RIP 0xffffffffffffffd6.
RSP: 0018:ffffc9000e2f7310 EFLAGS: 00010246
RAX: dffffc0000000000 RBX: ffffffff8d6ecc00 RCX: 0000000000000000
RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: ffff888024c27910 RDI: ffff888071e34000
RBP: ffff888071e34000 R08: 0000000000000001 R09: ffffffff8fcfb947
R10: 0000000000000001 R11: 0000000000000000 R12: ffff888024c27910
R13: ffff888071e34018 R14: 0000000000000000 R15: ffff88801ef74800
FS:  00007f321d897700(0000) GS:ffff8880b9d00000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000
CS:  0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033
CR2: ffffffffffffffd6 CR3: 00000000722c3000 CR4: 00000000003506e0
DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000
DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400
Call Trace:
 fifo_set_limit net/sched/sch_fifo.c:242 [inline]
 fifo_set_limit+0x198/0x210 net/sched/sch_fifo.c:227
 tbf_change+0x6ec/0x16d0 net/sched/sch_tbf.c:418
 qdisc_change net/sched/sch_api.c:1332 [inline]
 tc_modify_qdisc+0xd9a/0x1a60 net/sched/sch_api.c:1634
 rtnetlink_rcv_msg+0x413/0xb80 net/core/rtnetlink.c:5572
 netlink_rcv_skb+0x153/0x420 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:2504
 netlink_unicast_kernel net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1314 [inline]
 netlink_unicast+0x533/0x7d0 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1340
 netlink_sendmsg+0x86d/0xdb0 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1929
 sock_sendmsg_nosec net/socket.c:704 [inline]
 sock_sendmsg+0xcf/0x120 net/socket.c:724
 ____sys_sendmsg+0x6e8/0x810 net/socket.c:2409
 ___sys_sendmsg+0xf3/0x170 net/socket.c:2463
 __sys_sendmsg+0xe5/0x1b0 net/socket.c:2492
 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

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-47418?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-47418?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2021-47418 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-47418 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-2021-47418 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-47418 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-2021-47418 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-2021-47418/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-47418/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-47418
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-47418
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-47418

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-47418/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.