medium CVSS 5.5 EPSS <0.1%

CVE-2021-47619·Kernel vulnerability

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: i40e: Fix queues reservation for XDP When XDP was configured on a system with large number of CPUs and X722 NIC there was a call trace with NULL pointer dereference. i40e 0000:87:00.0: failed to get tracking for 256 queues for VSI 0 err -12 i40e 0000:87:00.0: setup of MAIN VSI failed BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000000 RIP: 0010:i40e_xdp+0xea/0x1b0 [i40e] Call Trace: ? i40e_reconfig_rss_queues+0x130/0x130 [i40e] dev_xdp_install+0x61/0xe0 dev_xdp_attach+0x18a/0x4c0 dev_change_xdp_fd+0x1e6/0x220 do_setlink+0x616/0x1030 ? ahci_port_stop+0x80/0x80 ? ata_qc_issue+0x107/0x1e0 ? lock_timer_base+0x61/0x80 ? __mod_timer+0x202/0x380 rtnl_setlink+0xe5/0x170 ? bpf_lsm_binder_transaction+0x10/0x10 ? security_capable+0x36/0x50 rtnetlink_rcv_msg+0x121/0x350 ? rtnl_calcit.isra.0+0x100/0x100 netlink_rcv_skb+0x50/0xf0 netlink_unicast+0x1d3/0x2a0 netlink_sendmsg+0x22a/0x440 sock_sendmsg+0x5e/0x60 __sys_sendto+0xf0/0x160 ? __sys_getsockname+0x7e/0xc0 ? _copy_from_user+0x3c/0x80 ? __sys_setsockopt+0xc8/0x1a0 __x64_sys_sendto+0x20/0x30 do_syscall_64+0x33/0x40 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xae RIP: 0033:0x7f83fa7a39e0 This was caused by PF queue pile fragmentation due to flow director VSI queue being placed right after main VSI. Because of this main VSI was not able to resize its queue allocation for XDP resulting in no queues allocated for main VSI when XDP was turned on. Fix this by always allocating last queue in PF queue pile for a flow director VSI.

Severity
medium
Software
Kernel
Fixed in
5.16.5
Published

How likely is exploitation

FIRST's Exploit Prediction Scoring System puts the probability of this CVE being exploited in the next 30 days at <0.1% — higher than 3% of all published CVEs. EPSS is an independent forecast of exploitation, not a severity rating: it says nothing about how much damage a successful attack does, which is what a CVSS score measures.

Affected versions

From: 5.16

Until: 5.16.5

Fixed in: 5.16.5

How to fix this CVE

Update the Linux kernel to version 5.16.5 or later to resolve a queue allocation issue affecting XDP (eXpress Data Path) on systems with high CPU counts and Intel X722 NICs. The vulnerability causes queue fragmentation in the i40e driver, preventing proper XDP initialization and resulting in kernel NULL pointer dereferences. Apply the kernel update through your distribution's package manager and reboot the system to activate the fix.

sudo dnf update kernel

Defensia detects this vulnerability

How to check if you are affected

  1. Run `uname -r` to check the currently running kernel version and verify it is 5.16.5 or later
  2. Check if i40e driver is loaded: `lsmod | grep i40e` — if empty, the driver is not in use and risk is minimal
  3. Search kernel logs for XDP-related errors: `dmesg | grep -i 'i40e.*failed to get tracking\|i40e.*setup of MAIN VSI failed'`
  4. After patching, reboot and run `uname -r` again to confirm the fixed kernel version is active

FAQ

What is CVE-2021-47619?

This vulnerability affects the Intel i40e driver in the Linux kernel, causing XDP queue allocation to fail on systems with many CPUs and X722 NICs due to improper queue pile fragmentation handling. When XDP is enabled, the driver attempts to resize queue allocations but receives a NULL pointer dereference, crashing the kernel.

Is CVE-2021-47619 being actively exploited?

No, this vulnerability is not listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog and no public exploits are available. It requires local system access and specific hardware to trigger.

What versions of Kernel are affected by CVE-2021-47619?

Linux kernel versions 5.16 through 5.16.4 are vulnerable. The fix is included in kernel 5.16.5 and later releases.

How do I check if my server is vulnerable to CVE-2021-47619?

Run `uname -r` to check your kernel version — if it returns 5.16 through 5.16.4, you are vulnerable. Additionally, run `lsmod | grep i40e` to determine if the affected driver is loaded on your system.

Does Defensia detect CVE-2021-47619?

Yes — Defensia's CVE advisory scanner compares installed package versions against the NVD database. If the Linux kernel is installed on a monitored server, CVE-2021-47619 will appear in your dashboard with remediation steps.

Related Kernel CVEs

CVE-2026-63795CVSS 10In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: 9p: avoid putting oldfid in p9_client_walk() error path When p9_client_walk() is called with clone set to false, fid aliases oldfid. If the walk subsequently fails after the request has been sent, the error path jumps to clunk_fid, which currently calls p9_fid_put(fid) unconditionally. This drops a reference to oldfid even though ownership of oldfid remains with the caller. If this is the last reference, oldfid can be clunked and destroyed while the caller still expects it to be valid. A later use or put of oldfid can then trigger a use-after-free or refcount underflow. Fix this by only putting fid in the clunk_fid error path when it does not alias oldfid, matching the existing guard in the error path below. This can be triggered when a multi-component walk is split into multiple p9_client_walk() calls and a later non-cloning walk fails. A reproducer and refcount warning logs are available on request.
CVE-2026-53398CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: NFSD: Fix SECINFO_NO_NAME decode error cleanup nfsd4_decode_secinfo_no_name() currently initializes sin_exp after decoding sin_style. If the XDR stream is truncated, the decoder returns nfserr_bad_xdr before sin_exp is initialized. Since commit 3fdc54646234 ("NFSD: Reduce amount of struct nfsd4_compoundargs that needs clearing"), the inline iops array is not cleared between RPC calls. A failed SECINFO_NO_NAME decode can therefore leave sin_exp holding stale union contents from a previous operation. The error response path still invokes nfsd4_secinfo_no_name_release(), which calls exp_put() on a non-NULL sin_exp. Initialize sin_exp before the first failable decode step, matching nfsd4_decode_secinfo().
CVE-2026-64268CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: RDMA/siw: bound Read Response placement to the RREAD length In drivers/infiniband/sw/siw/siw_qp_rx.c, siw_proc_rresp() places each inbound Read Response DDP segment at sge->laddr + wqe->processed and then accumulates wqe->processed, but it never checks the running total against the sink buffer length on continuation segments. siw_check_sge() resolves and validates the sink memory only on the first fragment (the if (!*mem) branch), and siw_rresp_check_ntoh() compares the cumulative length against wqe->bytes only on the final segment (the !frx->more_ddp_segs guard). A connected siw peer that answers an outstanding RREAD with Read Response segments that keep the DDP Last flag clear, carrying more total payload than the RREAD requested, drives wqe->processed past the validated sink buffer; the next siw_rx_data() call writes out of bounds at sge->laddr + wqe->processed. siw runs iWARP over ordinary routable TCP, so the peer is the remote end of an established RDMA connection and needs no local privilege. Bound every segment before placement, exactly as siw_proc_send() and siw_proc_write() already do for their tagged and untagged paths, and terminate the connection with a base-or-bounds DDP error when the Read Response would overrun the sink buffer. This is the second receive-path length fix for this file. A separate change rejects an MPA FPDU length that underflows the per-fragment remainder in the header decode; that guard does not cover this case, because here each individual segment length is self-consistent and only the accumulated placement offset overruns the buffer.
CVE-2026-53228CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ipv6: sit: reload inner IPv6 header after GSO offloads ipip6_tunnel_xmit() caches the inner IPv6 header pointer at function entry and continues using it after iptunnel_handle_offloads(). For GSO skbs, iptunnel_handle_offloads() calls skb_header_unclone(). When the skb header is cloned, skb_header_unclone() can call pskb_expand_head(), which may move the skb head. The pskb_expand_head() contract requires pointers into the skb header to be reloaded after the call. If the later skb_realloc_headroom() branch is not taken, SIT uses the stale iph6 pointer to read the inner hop limit and DS field. That can read from a freed skb head after the old head's remaining clone is released. Reload iph6 after the offload helper succeeds and before subsequent reads from the inner IPv6 header. Keep the existing reload after skb_realloc_headroom(), since that branch can also replace the skb.
CVE-2026-53384CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: serial: 8250_dw: unregister 8250 port if clk_notifier_register() fails dw8250_probe() registers the 8250 port via serial8250_register_8250_port() and then, if the device has a clock, registers a clock notifier. If clk_notifier_register() fails, probe returns the error but leaves the 8250 port registered. The matching serial8250_unregister_port() lives in dw8250_remove(), which is not called when probe fails, so the port slot stays occupied until the device is rebound or the system is rebooted. The devm-allocated driver data is freed while the port still references it (via the saved private_data and serial_in/serial_out callbacks), so any access to that port slot before a rebind is a use-after-free hazard. Unregister the port on the clk_notifier_register() error path.

References

Track CVEs across your fleet automatically

Defensia scans your Linux servers and tells you exactly which ones are running vulnerable versions — including CVE-2021-47619. Free for 1 server.

Get started free