diff --git a/Documentation/networking/mptcp-sysctl.rst b/Documentation/networking/mptcp-sysctl.rst
index fd514bba8c431..95598c21fc8e8 100644
--- a/Documentation/networking/mptcp-sysctl.rst
+++ b/Documentation/networking/mptcp-sysctl.rst
@@ -34,6 +34,17 @@ available_schedulers - STRING
 	Shows the available schedulers choices that are registered. More packet
 	schedulers may be available, but not loaded.
 
+blackhole_timeout - INTEGER (seconds)
+	Initial time period in second to disable MPTCP on active MPTCP sockets
+	when a MPTCP firewall blackhole issue happens. This time period will
+	grow exponentially when more blackhole issues get detected right after
+	MPTCP is re-enabled and will reset to the initial value when the
+	blackhole issue goes away.
+
+	0 to disable the blackhole detection.
+
+	Default: 3600
+
 checksum_enabled - BOOLEAN
 	Control whether DSS checksum can be enabled.
 
diff --git a/net/mptcp/ctrl.c b/net/mptcp/ctrl.c
index 0b23e3c5e8ff4..38d8121331d4a 100644
--- a/net/mptcp/ctrl.c
+++ b/net/mptcp/ctrl.c
@@ -28,8 +28,11 @@ struct mptcp_pernet {
 #endif
 
 	unsigned int add_addr_timeout;
+	unsigned int blackhole_timeout;
 	unsigned int close_timeout;
 	unsigned int stale_loss_cnt;
+	atomic_t active_disable_times;
+	unsigned long active_disable_stamp;
 	u8 mptcp_enabled;
 	u8 checksum_enabled;
 	u8 allow_join_initial_addr_port;
@@ -88,6 +91,8 @@ static void mptcp_pernet_set_defaults(struct mptcp_pernet *pernet)
 {
 	pernet->mptcp_enabled = 1;
 	pernet->add_addr_timeout = TCP_RTO_MAX;
+	pernet->blackhole_timeout = 3600;
+	atomic_set(&pernet->active_disable_times, 0);
 	pernet->close_timeout = TCP_TIMEWAIT_LEN;
 	pernet->checksum_enabled = 0;
 	pernet->allow_join_initial_addr_port = 1;
@@ -152,6 +157,20 @@ static int proc_available_schedulers(const struct ctl_table *ctl,
 	return ret;
 }
 
+static int proc_blackhole_detect_timeout(const struct ctl_table *table,
+					 int write, void *buffer, size_t *lenp,
+					 loff_t *ppos)
+{
+	struct mptcp_pernet *pernet = mptcp_get_pernet(current->nsproxy->net_ns);
+	int ret;
+
+	ret = proc_dointvec_minmax(table, write, buffer, lenp, ppos);
+	if (write && ret == 0)
+		atomic_set(&pernet->active_disable_times, 0);
+
+	return ret;
+}
+
 static struct ctl_table mptcp_sysctl_table[] = {
 	{
 		.procname = "enabled",
@@ -218,6 +237,13 @@ static struct ctl_table mptcp_sysctl_table[] = {
 		.mode = 0644,
 		.proc_handler = proc_dointvec_jiffies,
 	},
+	{
+		.procname = "blackhole_timeout",
+		.maxlen = sizeof(unsigned int),
+		.mode = 0644,
+		.proc_handler = proc_blackhole_detect_timeout,
+		.extra1 = SYSCTL_ZERO,
+	},
 };
 
 static int mptcp_pernet_new_table(struct net *net, struct mptcp_pernet *pernet)
@@ -241,6 +267,7 @@ static int mptcp_pernet_new_table(struct net *net, struct mptcp_pernet *pernet)
 	table[6].data = &pernet->scheduler;
 	/* table[7] is for available_schedulers which is read-only info */
 	table[8].data = &pernet->close_timeout;
+	table[9].data = &pernet->blackhole_timeout;
 
 	hdr = register_net_sysctl_sz(net, MPTCP_SYSCTL_PATH, table,
 				     ARRAY_SIZE(mptcp_sysctl_table));
@@ -278,6 +305,88 @@ static void mptcp_pernet_del_table(struct mptcp_pernet *pernet) {}
 
 #endif /* CONFIG_SYSCTL */
 
+/* The following code block is to deal with middle box issues with MPTCP,
+ * similar to what is done with TFO.
+ * The proposed solution is to disable active MPTCP globally when SYN+MPC are
+ * dropped, while SYN without MPC aren't. In this case, active side MPTCP is
+ * disabled globally for 1hr at first. Then if it happens again, it is disabled
+ * for 2h, then 4h, 8h, ...
+ * The timeout is reset back to 1hr when a successful active MPTCP connection is
+ * fully established.
+ */
+
+/* Disable active MPTCP and record current jiffies and active_disable_times */
+void mptcp_active_disable(struct sock *sk)
+{
+	struct net *net = sock_net(sk);
+	struct mptcp_pernet *pernet;
+
+	pernet = mptcp_get_pernet(net);
+
+	if (!READ_ONCE(pernet->blackhole_timeout))
+		return;
+
+	/* Paired with READ_ONCE() in mptcp_active_should_disable() */
+	WRITE_ONCE(pernet->active_disable_stamp, jiffies);
+
+	/* Paired with smp_rmb() in mptcp_active_should_disable().
+	 * We want pernet->active_disable_stamp to be updated first.
+	 */
+	smp_mb__before_atomic();
+	atomic_inc(&pernet->active_disable_times);
+
+	MPTCP_INC_STATS(net, MPTCP_MIB_BLACKHOLE);
+}
+
+/* Calculate timeout for MPTCP active disable
+ * Return true if we are still in the active MPTCP disable period
+ * Return false if timeout already expired and we should use active MPTCP
+ */
+bool mptcp_active_should_disable(struct sock *ssk)
+{
+	struct net *net = sock_net(ssk);
+	unsigned int blackhole_timeout;
+	struct mptcp_pernet *pernet;
+	unsigned long timeout;
+	int disable_times;
+	int multiplier;
+
+	pernet = mptcp_get_pernet(net);
+	blackhole_timeout = READ_ONCE(pernet->blackhole_timeout);
+
+	if (!blackhole_timeout)
+		return false;
+
+	disable_times = atomic_read(&pernet->active_disable_times);
+	if (!disable_times)
+		return false;
+
+	/* Paired with smp_mb__before_atomic() in mptcp_active_disable() */
+	smp_rmb();
+
+	/* Limit timeout to max: 2^6 * initial timeout */
+	multiplier = 1 << min(disable_times - 1, 6);
+
+	/* Paired with the WRITE_ONCE() in mptcp_active_disable(). */
+	timeout = READ_ONCE(pernet->active_disable_stamp) +
+		  multiplier * blackhole_timeout * HZ;
+
+	return time_before(jiffies, timeout);
+}
+
+/* Enable active MPTCP and reset active_disable_times if needed */
+void mptcp_active_enable(struct sock *sk)
+{
+	struct mptcp_pernet *pernet = mptcp_get_pernet(sock_net(sk));
+
+	if (atomic_read(&pernet->active_disable_times)) {
+		struct dst_entry *dst = sk_dst_get(sk);
+
+		if (dst && dst->dev && (dst->dev->flags & IFF_LOOPBACK))
+			atomic_set(&pernet->active_disable_times, 0);
+	}
+}
+
 /* Check the number of retransmissions, and fallback to TCP if needed */
 void mptcp_active_detect_blackhole(struct sock *ssk, bool expired)
 {
@@ -290,10 +399,14 @@ void mptcp_active_detect_blackhole(struct sock *ssk, bool expired)
 	timeouts = inet_csk(ssk)->icsk_retransmits;
 	subflow = mptcp_subflow_ctx(ssk);
 
-	if (subflow->request_mptcp && ssk->sk_state == TCP_SYN_SENT &&
-	    (timeouts == 2 || (timeouts < 2 && expired))) {
-		MPTCP_INC_STATS(sock_net(ssk), MPTCP_MIB_MPCAPABLEACTIVEDROP);
-		mptcp_subflow_early_fallback(mptcp_sk(subflow->conn), subflow);
+	if (subflow->request_mptcp && ssk->sk_state == TCP_SYN_SENT) {
+		if (timeouts == 2 || (timeouts < 2 && expired)) {
+			MPTCP_INC_STATS(sock_net(ssk), MPTCP_MIB_MPCAPABLEACTIVEDROP);
+			subflow->mpc_drop = 1;
+			mptcp_subflow_early_fallback(mptcp_sk(subflow->conn), subflow);
+		} else {
+			subflow->mpc_drop = 0;
+		}
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/net/mptcp/mib.c b/net/mptcp/mib.c
index d70a3e2bfad62..38c2efc82b948 100644
--- a/net/mptcp/mib.c
+++ b/net/mptcp/mib.c
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ static const struct snmp_mib mptcp_snmp_list[] = {
 	SNMP_MIB_ITEM("MPCapableFallbackACK", MPTCP_MIB_MPCAPABLEPASSIVEFALLBACK),
 	SNMP_MIB_ITEM("MPCapableFallbackSYNACK", MPTCP_MIB_MPCAPABLEACTIVEFALLBACK),
 	SNMP_MIB_ITEM("MPCapableSYNTXDrop", MPTCP_MIB_MPCAPABLEACTIVEDROP),
+	SNMP_MIB_ITEM("MPCapableSYNTXDisabled", MPTCP_MIB_MPCAPABLEACTIVEDISABLED),
 	SNMP_MIB_ITEM("MPFallbackTokenInit", MPTCP_MIB_TOKENFALLBACKINIT),
 	SNMP_MIB_ITEM("MPTCPRetrans", MPTCP_MIB_RETRANSSEGS),
 	SNMP_MIB_ITEM("MPJoinNoTokenFound", MPTCP_MIB_JOINNOTOKEN),
@@ -74,6 +75,7 @@ static const struct snmp_mib mptcp_snmp_list[] = {
 	SNMP_MIB_ITEM("RcvWndConflictUpdate", MPTCP_MIB_RCVWNDCONFLICTUPDATE),
 	SNMP_MIB_ITEM("RcvWndConflict", MPTCP_MIB_RCVWNDCONFLICT),
 	SNMP_MIB_ITEM("MPCurrEstab", MPTCP_MIB_CURRESTAB),
+	SNMP_MIB_ITEM("Blackhole", MPTCP_MIB_BLACKHOLE),
 	SNMP_MIB_SENTINEL
 };
 
diff --git a/net/mptcp/mib.h b/net/mptcp/mib.h
index 062775700b632..c8ffe18a87221 100644
--- a/net/mptcp/mib.h
+++ b/net/mptcp/mib.h
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ enum linux_mptcp_mib_field {
 	MPTCP_MIB_MPCAPABLEPASSIVEFALLBACK,/* Server-side fallback during 3-way handshake */
 	MPTCP_MIB_MPCAPABLEACTIVEFALLBACK, /* Client-side fallback during 3-way handshake */
 	MPTCP_MIB_MPCAPABLEACTIVEDROP,	/* Client-side fallback due to a MPC drop */
+	MPTCP_MIB_MPCAPABLEACTIVEDISABLED, /* Client-side disabled due to past issues */
 	MPTCP_MIB_TOKENFALLBACKINIT,	/* Could not init/allocate token */
 	MPTCP_MIB_RETRANSSEGS,		/* Segments retransmitted at the MPTCP-level */
 	MPTCP_MIB_JOINNOTOKEN,		/* Received MP_JOIN but the token was not found */
@@ -75,6 +76,7 @@ enum linux_mptcp_mib_field {
 					 */
 	MPTCP_MIB_RCVWNDCONFLICT,	/* Conflict with while updating msk rcv wnd */
 	MPTCP_MIB_CURRESTAB,		/* Current established MPTCP connections */
+	MPTCP_MIB_BLACKHOLE,		/* A blackhole has been detected */
 	__MPTCP_MIB_MAX
 };
 
diff --git a/net/mptcp/protocol.c b/net/mptcp/protocol.c
index cbbcc46cfef0a..c2317919fc148 100644
--- a/net/mptcp/protocol.c
+++ b/net/mptcp/protocol.c
@@ -3737,9 +3737,14 @@ static int mptcp_connect(struct sock *sk, struct sockaddr *uaddr, int addr_len)
 	if (rcu_access_pointer(tcp_sk(ssk)->md5sig_info))
 		mptcp_subflow_early_fallback(msk, subflow);
 #endif
-	if (subflow->request_mptcp && mptcp_token_new_connect(ssk)) {
-		MPTCP_INC_STATS(sock_net(ssk), MPTCP_MIB_TOKENFALLBACKINIT);
-		mptcp_subflow_early_fallback(msk, subflow);
+	if (subflow->request_mptcp) {
+		if (mptcp_active_should_disable(sk)) {
+			MPTCP_INC_STATS(sock_net(ssk), MPTCP_MIB_MPCAPABLEACTIVEDISABLED);
+			mptcp_subflow_early_fallback(msk, subflow);
+		} else if (mptcp_token_new_connect(ssk) < 0) {
+			MPTCP_INC_STATS(sock_net(ssk), MPTCP_MIB_TOKENFALLBACKINIT);
+			mptcp_subflow_early_fallback(msk, subflow);
+		}
 	}
 
 	WRITE_ONCE(msk->write_seq, subflow->idsn);
diff --git a/net/mptcp/protocol.h b/net/mptcp/protocol.h
index 302bd808b839a..74417aae08d0f 100644
--- a/net/mptcp/protocol.h
+++ b/net/mptcp/protocol.h
@@ -531,7 +531,8 @@ struct mptcp_subflow_context {
 		valid_csum_seen : 1,        /* at least one csum validated */
 		is_mptfo : 1,	    /* subflow is doing TFO */
 		close_event_done : 1,       /* has done the post-closed part */
-		__unused : 9;
+		mpc_drop : 1,	    /* the MPC option has been dropped in a rtx */
+		__unused : 8;
 	bool	data_avail;
 	bool	scheduled;
 	u32	remote_nonce;
@@ -697,6 +698,11 @@ unsigned int mptcp_stale_loss_cnt(const struct net *net);
 unsigned int mptcp_close_timeout(const struct sock *sk);
 int mptcp_get_pm_type(const struct net *net);
 const char *mptcp_get_scheduler(const struct net *net);
+
+void mptcp_active_disable(struct sock *sk);
+bool mptcp_active_should_disable(struct sock *ssk);
+void mptcp_active_enable(struct sock *sk);
+
 void mptcp_get_available_schedulers(char *buf, size_t maxlen);
 void __mptcp_subflow_fully_established(struct mptcp_sock *msk,
 				       struct mptcp_subflow_context *subflow,
diff --git a/net/mptcp/subflow.c b/net/mptcp/subflow.c
index b9b14e75e8c2e..1040b3b9696b7 100644
--- a/net/mptcp/subflow.c
+++ b/net/mptcp/subflow.c
@@ -546,6 +546,7 @@ static void subflow_finish_connect(struct sock *sk, const struct sk_buff *skb)
 		subflow->mp_capable = 1;
 		MPTCP_INC_STATS(sock_net(sk), MPTCP_MIB_MPCAPABLEACTIVEACK);
 		mptcp_finish_connect(sk);
+		mptcp_active_enable(parent);
 		mptcp_propagate_state(parent, sk, subflow, &mp_opt);
 	} else if (subflow->request_join) {
 		u8 hmac[SHA256_DIGEST_SIZE];
@@ -591,6 +592,9 @@ static void subflow_finish_connect(struct sock *sk, const struct sk_buff *skb)
 			MPTCP_INC_STATS(sock_net(sk), MPTCP_MIB_JOINPORTSYNACKRX);
 		}
 	} else if (mptcp_check_fallback(sk)) {
+		/* It looks like MPTCP is blocked, while TCP is not */
+		if (subflow->mpc_drop)
+			mptcp_active_disable(parent);
 fallback:
 		mptcp_propagate_state(parent, sk, subflow, NULL);
 	}