# CVE-2021-47583: media: mxl111sf: change mutex_init() location

> A missing mutex initialization in the mxl111sf driver can cause a kernel crash when the device is attached, 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:** 19 Jun 2024
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2021-47583, GHSA-hfwg-2mm4-h8c4, UBUNTU-CVE-2021-47583

## What is CVE-2021-47583?

CVE-2021-47583 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 19 Jun 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:

media: mxl111sf: change mutex_init() location

Syzbot reported, that mxl111sf_ctrl_msg() uses uninitialized
mutex. The problem was in wrong mutex_init() location.

Previous mutex_init(&state->msg_lock) call was in ->init() function, but
dvb_usbv2_init() has this order of calls:

	dvb_usbv2_init()
	  dvb_usbv2_adapter_init()
	    dvb_usbv2_adapter_frontend_init()
	      props->frontend_attach()

	  props->init()

Since mxl111sf_* devices call mxl111sf_ctrl_msg() in ->frontend_attach()
internally we need to initialize state->msg_lock before
frontend_attach(). To achieve it, ->probe() call added to all mxl111sf_*
devices, which will simply initiaize mutex.

Weakness: CWE-908 (Use of Uninitialized Resource)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-47583?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-47583?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2021-47583 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-47583 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-2021-47583 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-47583 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 19 Jun 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-2021-47583 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-2021-47583/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-47583/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-47583
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-47583
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-47583

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-47583/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.