Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-47619 is a Linux kernel i40e network driver flaw. On systems with Intel X722 NICs, many CPUs, and XDP enabled, queue allocation could fail and trigger a NULL pointer dereference, potentially crashing affected networking or the kernel path.
Executive priority
Patch during the next suitable maintenance window for affected Linux network hosts. Escalate sooner for production systems using XDP on X722 NICs, because the observed failure mode can disrupt network services or crash kernel execution paths.
Technical view
The i40e driver could fragment PF queue reservations because the flow director VSI was placed after the main VSI. When XDP resized queues, the main VSI could receive no queues, causing a NULL pointer dereference in i40e_xdp. The kernel fix reserves the last PF queue for flow director VSI.
Likely exposure
Exposure appears limited to Linux systems using the i40e driver with X722 NICs where XDP is configured, especially high-CPU-count systems. The source does not identify remote reachability, default exposure, or broad product impact beyond Linux kernel versions and stable fixes.
Exploitation context
The source describes a crash during XDP configuration and marks KEV as false. No cited source reports active exploitation, public exploit use, or weaponized attack paths. Treat this mainly as an availability and operational stability risk unless vendor guidance says otherwise.
Researcher notes
Evidence is strongest for a driver bug and stable kernel fix. The bundle does not provide CVSS, CWE, attacker prerequisites, or exploitability analysis. Validate exposure through hardware, driver, kernel build, and XDP configuration rather than assuming all Linux deployments are affected.
Mitigation direction
- Update to a kernel containing the referenced stable i40e fixes.
- Check your Linux vendor advisory for backported fixes in packaged kernels.
- Avoid enabling XDP on affected i40e/X722 systems until patched, if operationally feasible.
- Prioritize hosts where network stability is business critical.
Validation and detection
- Inventory hosts using the i40e driver and Intel X722 NICs.
- Identify kernels matching the CVE record’s affected Linux versions or missing stable fixes.
- Check whether XDP is configured on those interfaces.
- Review kernel logs for i40e queue allocation failures or NULL pointer traces.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CVE-2021-47619 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Unknown
- CVSS
- Not scored
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
SSVC decision data
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d46fa4ea9756ef6cbcf9752d0832cc66e2d7121bCVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/be6998f232b8e4ca8225029e305b8329d89bfd59CVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/768eb705e6381f0c70ca29d4e66f19790d5d19a1CVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/00eddb0e4ea115154581d1049507a996acfc2d3eCVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4b3aa858268b7b9aeef02e5f9c4cd8f8fac101c8CVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/92947844b8beee988c0ce17082b705c2f75f0742CVE reference, Linux
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.