# CVE-2021-47591: mptcp: remove tcp ulp setsockopt support

> A null pointer dereference in the Linux kernel MPTCP module allows local attackers to cause a system crash via TCP_ULP setsockopt.

- **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-2021-47591, GHSA-9hfm-p748-vm54, UBUNTU-CVE-2021-47591

## What is CVE-2021-47591?

CVE-2021-47591 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:

mptcp: remove tcp ulp setsockopt support

TCP_ULP setsockopt cannot be used for mptcp because its already
used internally to plumb subflow (tcp) sockets to the mptcp layer.

syzbot managed to trigger a crash for mptcp connections that are
in fallback mode:

KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000020-0x0000000000000027]
CPU: 1 PID: 1083 Comm: syz-executor.3 Not tainted 5.16.0-rc2-syzkaller #0
RIP: 0010:tls_build_proto net/tls/tls_main.c:776 [inline]
[..]
 __tcp_set_ulp net/ipv4/tcp_ulp.c:139 [inline]
 tcp_set_ulp+0x428/0x4c0 net/ipv4/tcp_ulp.c:160
 do_tcp_setsockopt+0x455/0x37c0 net/ipv4/tcp.c:3391
 mptcp_setsockopt+0x1b47/0x2400 net/mptcp/sockopt.c:638

Remove support for TCP_ULP setsockopt.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-47591?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-47591?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2021-47591 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-47591 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-2021-47591 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-47591 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-2021-47591 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-2021-47591/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-47591/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-47591
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-47591
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-47591

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-47591/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.