# CVE-2021-47631: ARM: davinci: da850-evm: Avoid NULL pointer dereference

> A NULL pointer dereference in the Linux kernel ARM Davinci driver causes a system panic during boot on unsupported machines, 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:** 26 Feb 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2021-47631, GHSA-qrhr-9q6x-9gg9, UBUNTU-CVE-2021-47631

## What is CVE-2021-47631?

CVE-2021-47631 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 26 Feb 2025. 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:

ARM: davinci: da850-evm: Avoid NULL pointer dereference

With newer versions of GCC, there is a panic in da850_evm_config_emac()
when booting multi_v5_defconfig in QEMU under the palmetto-bmc machine:

Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 00000020
pgd = (ptrval)
[00000020] *pgd=00000000
Internal error: Oops: 5 [#1] PREEMPT ARM
Modules linked in:
CPU: 0 PID: 1 Comm: swapper Not tainted 5.15.0 #1
Hardware name: Generic DT based system
PC is at da850_evm_config_emac+0x1c/0x120
LR is at do_one_initcall+0x50/0x1e0

The emac_pdata pointer in soc_info is NULL because davinci_soc_info only
gets populated on davinci machines but da850_evm_config_emac() is called
on all machines via device_initcall().

Move the rmii_en assignment below the machine check so that it is only
dereferenced when running on a supported SoC.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-47631?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-47631?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2021-47631 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-47631 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-2021-47631 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-47631 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 26 Feb 2025. 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-2021-47631 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-2021-47631/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-47631/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-47631
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-47631
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-47631

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-47631/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.