# CVE-2021-47572: net: nexthop: fix null pointer dereference when IPv6 is not enabled

> A local attacker can cause a kernel crash by adding an IPv6 nexthop when IPv6 is disabled, leading to 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:** 24 May 2024
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2021-47572, UBUNTU-CVE-2021-47572

## What is CVE-2021-47572?

CVE-2021-47572 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 24 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: nexthop: fix null pointer dereference when IPv6 is not enabled

When we try to add an IPv6 nexthop and IPv6 is not enabled
(!CONFIG_IPV6) we'll hit a NULL pointer dereference[1] in the error path
of nh_create_ipv6() due to calling ipv6_stub->fib6_nh_release. The bug
has been present since the beginning of IPv6 nexthop gateway support.
Commit 1aefd3de7bc6 ("ipv6: Add fib6_nh_init and release to stubs") tells
us that only fib6_nh_init has a dummy stub because fib6_nh_release should
not be called if fib6_nh_init returns an error, but the commit below added
a call to ipv6_stub->fib6_nh_release in its error path. To fix it return
the dummy stub's -EAFNOSUPPORT error directly without calling
ipv6_stub->fib6_nh_release in nh_create_ipv6()'s error path.

[1]
 Output is a bit truncated, but it clearly shows the error.
 BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 000000000000000000
 #PF: supervisor instruction fetch in kernel modede
 #PF: error_code(0x0010) - not-present pagege
 PGD 0 P4D 0
 Oops: 0010 [#1] PREEMPT SMP NOPTI
 CPU: 4 PID: 638 Comm: ip Kdump: loaded Not tainted 5.16.0-rc1+ #446
 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.14.0-4.fc34 04/01/2014
 RIP: 0010:0x0
 Code: Unable to access opcode bytes at RIP 0xffffffffffffffd6.
 RSP: 0018:ffff888109f5b8f0 EFLAGS: 00010286^Ac
 RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: ffff888109f5ba28 RCX: 0000000000000000
 RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 0000000000000000 RDI: ffff8881008a2860
 RBP: ffff888109f5b9d8 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000000
 R10: ffff888109f5b978 R11: ffff888109f5b948 R12: 00000000ffffff9f
 R13: ffff8881008a2a80 R14: ffff8881008a2860 R15: ffff8881008a2840
 FS:  00007f98de70f100(0000) GS:ffff88822bf00000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000
 CS:  0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033
 CR2: ffffffffffffffd6 CR3: 0000000100efc000 CR4: 00000000000006e0
 Call Trace:
  <TASK>
  nh_create_ipv6+0xed/0x10c
  rtm_new_nexthop+0x6d7/0x13f3
  ? check_preemption_disabled+0x3d/0xf2
  ? lock_is_held_type+0xbe/0xfd
  rtnetlink_rcv_msg+0x23f/0x26a
  ? check_preemption_disabled+0x3d/0xf2
  ? rtnl_calcit.isra.0+0x147/0x147
  netlink_rcv_skb+0x61/0xb2
  netlink_unicast+0x100/0x187
  netlink_sendmsg+0x37f/0x3a0
  ? netlink_unicast+0x187/0x187
  sock_sendmsg_nosec+0x67/0x9b
  ____sys_sendmsg+0x19d/0x1f9
  ? copy_msghdr_from_user+0x4c/0x5e
  ? rcu_read_lock_any_held+0x2a/0x78
  ___sys_sendmsg+0x6c/0x8c
  ? asm_sysvec_apic_timer_interrupt+0x12/0x20
  ? lockdep_hardirqs_on+0xd9/0x102
  ? sockfd_lookup_light+0x69/0x99
  __sys_sendmsg+0x50/0x6e
  do_syscall_64+0xcb/0xf2
  entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xae
 RIP: 0033:0x7f98dea28914
 Code: 00 f7 d8 64 89 02 48 c7 c0 ff ff ff ff eb b5 0f 1f 80 00 00 00 00 48 8d 05 e9 5d 0c 00 8b 00 85 c0 75 13 b8 2e 00 00 00 0f 05 <48> 3d 00 f0 ff ff 77 54 c3 0f 1f 00 41 54 41 89 d4 55 48 89 f5 53
 RSP: 002b:00007fff859f5e68 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: 000000000000002e2e
 RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 00000000619cb810 RCX: 00007f98dea28914
 RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 00007fff859f5ed0 RDI: 0000000000000003
 RBP: 0000000000000000 R08: 0000000000000001 R09: 0000000000000008
 R10: fffffffffffffce6 R11: 0000000000000246 R12: 0000000000000001
 R13: 000055c0097ae520 R14: 000055c0097957fd R15: 00007fff859f63a0
 </TASK>
 Modules linked in: bridge stp llc bonding virtio_net

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-47572?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-47572?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2021-47572 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-47572 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-2021-47572 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-47572 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 24 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-2021-47572 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-2021-47572/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-47572/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-47572
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-47572
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-47572

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-47572/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.