# CVE-2021-47593: mptcp: clear 'kern' flag from fallback sockets

> A local attacker can crash the Linux kernel by triggering a null pointer dereference in the MPTCP fallback socket handling.

- **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-2021-47593, GHSA-677c-pqcw-qh84, UBUNTU-CVE-2021-47593

## What is CVE-2021-47593?

CVE-2021-47593 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: clear 'kern' flag from fallback sockets

The mptcp ULP extension relies on sk->sk_sock_kern being set correctly:
It prevents setsockopt(fd, IPPROTO_TCP, TCP_ULP, "mptcp", 6); from
working for plain tcp sockets (any userspace-exposed socket).

But in case of fallback, accept() can return a plain tcp sk.
In such case, sk is still tagged as 'kernel' and setsockopt will work.

This will crash the kernel, The subflow extension has a NULL ctx->conn
mptcp socket:

BUG: KASAN: null-ptr-deref in subflow_data_ready+0x181/0x2b0
Call Trace:
 tcp_data_ready+0xf8/0x370
 [..]

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-47593?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-47593?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2021-47593 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-47593 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-2021-47593 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-47593 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-2021-47593 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-2021-47593/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-47593/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-47593
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-47593
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-47593

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-47593/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.