Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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ReconObtain local low-privilege shell
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DeliveryIdentify application accepting user-supplied BPF filters
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ExploitCraft BPF filter with k ≥ 16 in LD/ST M[] instruction
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InstallSubmit filter to libpcap interpreter
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C2Trigger OOB stack memory write
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ExecuteCorrupt adjacent stack frames or function pointers
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ImpactAchieve code execution in target process context
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A05:2025 - Injection
ASVS 5.0
V2 - Validation and Business Logic Array index validation
|
| Exploitation Conditions | The attacker must have local system access with at least low-privileged credentials (CVSS PR:L, AV:L) and must be able to supply a crafted BPF filter program to the libpcap interpreter - either directly (by calling pcap_setfilter/bpf_validate with attacker-controlled instruction streams) or indirectly (via an application that compiles user-supplied filter strings and passes them to the BPF interpreter). The description notes 'uncommon use cases,' meaning standard libpcap deployments with internally generated, trusted filter programs are not directly exposed. Exploitation is limited to: the libpcap user-space interpreter code path (not kernel BPF); 64-bit systems (where the OOB range is 16GiB from the stack frame, making targeted writes harder) or 32-bit systems (entire address space reachable, easier to target specific structures); and any application that passes untrusted filter programs to libpcap without pre-validating BPF instruction k fields. No network-facing or authentication-free exploitation path exists from the data provided. |
| Impact | The CVSS 8.7 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:H/A:H) accurately reflects that exploitation requires only local access and low privileges but grants scope-changing memory write (I:H) and crash (A:H) capability. The C:L metric covers the 64-bit OOB read case; on 32-bit the read exposure is effectively C:H, which the CVSS underscores. EPSS data is not provided in the input, leaving exploitation probability unknown. No CISA KEV listing and no public exploit exist at time of analysis, so real-world exploitation is not confirmed. The AV:L constraint substantially limits internet-scale exploitation - only attackers who can supply a crafted BPF filter program to the interpreter are at risk, which is most realistic in applications that expose pcap filter construction to unprivileged local users or over IPC. The description's phrase 'uncommon use cases' suggests typical libpcap deployments with trusted filter programs are not immediately exposed, but network monitoring daemons and security tools accepting user-supplied filters could be prime targets. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | A local user with low privileges on a system running a network monitoring daemon (e.g., a custom tcpdump-based logger accepting filter expressions over a Unix socket) submits a crafted BPF filter program specifying a scratch-register index far exceeding 15. The libpcap interpreter dereferences M[k] without bounds checking, writing attacker-controlled values into stack memory up to 16GiB past the M[] array on a 64-bit host, corrupting adjacent stack frames or heap structures and potentially achieving code execution within the daemon's privilege context. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Sep 05, 2026
Unvalidated BPF scratch-register array index in libpcap's user-space BPF interpreter allows a local attacker with low privileges to craft a filter program that reads or writes OS process memory beyond the intended 16-entry M[] scratch array. On 64-bit architectures the accessible range is up to 16GiB starting at the current stack frame; on 32-bit architectures the entire process address space is reachable. The Tcpdump Group has issued a fix (commit 48e8960a) that adds bounds checks before every M[] access, rejecting filters referencing register index ≥ BPF_MEMWORDS (16). No public exploit or CISA KEV listing is identified at time of analysis.
RemediationAI
Upgrade to a build of libpcap that incorporates commit 48e8960a7108e9e828f9d7bdc7e97bdab841aec7 (https://github.com/the-tcpdump-group/libpcap/commit/48e8960a7108e9e828f9d7bdc7e97bdab841aec7), which adds bounds validation before all M[] scratch-register accesses in bpf_filter.c. A formal tagged release version containing this fix is not independently confirmed from the input data - distribution maintainers should track upstream for the next release. As a compensating control where patching is not immediately possible, restrict which users or processes can supply BPF filter programs (e.g., only allow pre-validated, trusted filter strings compiled by the application itself rather than from user input); this eliminates the attacker's ability to inject a crafted filter but may limit packet-filtering flexibility. On Linux systems using kernel-side BPF via AF_PACKET sockets with SO_ATTACH_FILTER, the kernel's own BPF verifier validates register indices independently - the libpcap user-space interpreter is only exercised on platforms or codepaths that fall back to software filtering.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
libpcap (cpe:2.3:a:the_tcpdump_group:libpcap:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*) implements a portable user-space BPF interpreter used by tcpdump, Wireshark, Snort, Suricata, and virtually every packet-capture application. BPF LD/ST instructions operate on a scratch memory array M[] with BPF_MEMWORDS=16 entries, indexed by the unsigned 32-bit k field of each BPF instruction. Because libpcap never validated that k < BPF_MEMWORDS before dereferencing M[k], a filter specifying k=2^32-1 causes the interpreter to dereference stack memory at an offset of ~16GiB past the array on 64-bit systems, or wrap into arbitrary address space on 32-bit systems. CWE-129 (Improper Validation of Array Index) is the exact root cause. The fix adds four guard checks (if (pc->k >= BPF_MEMWORDS) return 0;) covering all LD/ST M[] code paths in bpf_filter.c.
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Severity by source
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:H/A:H
Local attacker supplying a crafted filter program; scope change reflects OOB write beyond BPF sandbox into host process memory; C:L because 64-bit OOB read is large but bounded by stack layout.
AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Primary rating from Vendor (Tcpdump).
CVSS VectorVendor: Tcpdump
DescriptionCVE.org
In BPF instructions that load/store a value from/to a scratch memory register the register index is an unsigned 32-bit integer and must not exceed 15, but libpcap BPF interpreter does not validate the value. In particular uncommon use cases a crafted filter program can cause the interpreter to try reading and writing the OS process memory in the 16GiB starting at the current stack frame on 64-bit architectures and in the entire address space on 32-bit architectures.
Executive ViewAI
Libpcap, the packet capture library powering tcpdump and other network monitoring tools, contains a local memory-access vulnerability (CVSS 8.7) that allows low-privilege attackers to read or write arbitrary process memory on affected systems. Organizations operating packet capture infrastructure for threat detection or forensics face risk of sensitive data exfiltration or system compromise in multi-tenant or shared-access environments.
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Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Denial of service in libpcap before 1.10.7 allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to hang the offline BPF filter inte
rpcapd/daemon.c in libpcap before 1.9.1 allows attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and daem
Division by zero in libpcap's BPF interpreter can crash any application using the library when processing a crafted filt
Process termination via crafted BPF filter in libpcap allows a local attacker with low privileges to crash any applicati
Out-of-bounds memory reads in libpcap's userland BPF interpreter allow a local attacker who can supply a crafted filter
sf-pcapng.c in libpcap before 1.9.1 does not properly validate the PHB header length before allocating memory. Rated med
rpcapd/daemon.c in libpcap before 1.9.1 allows SSRF because a URL may be provided as a capture source. Rated medium seve
rpcapd/daemon.c in libpcap before 1.9.1 on non-Windows platforms provides details about why authentication failed, which
rpcapd/daemon.c in libpcap before 1.9.1 mishandles certain length values because of reuse of a variable. Rated medium se
Remote memory disclosure in libpcap's rpcap client allows a malicious or compromised rpcap server to cause a connected c
Remote packet capture support is disabled by default in libpcap. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.4), this vulnerability is
Memory exhaustion in libpcap's rpcapd remote capture daemon allows an authenticated remote client to degrade or crash th
Same weakness CWE-129 – Improper Validation of Array Index
View allVendor StatusVendor
SUSE
Severity: Important| Product | Status |
|---|---|
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 12 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Package Hub 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 16.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 16.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP applications 16.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP applications 16.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro 6.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro 6.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro 6.2 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 16.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 12 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server LTSS Extended Security 12 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE CaaS Platform 4.0 | Affected |
| SUSE CaaS Platform Toolchain 3 | Affected |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 6 | Affected |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 7 | Affected |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 7.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 12 SP1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 12 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 12 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 12 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP1-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP1-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP2-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP2-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Package Hub 15 SP1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Package Hub 15 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Package Hub 15 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Package Hub 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Package Hub 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Package Hub 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Point of Sale 12 SP2-CLIENT | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP1-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2-BCL | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP3-BCL | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP3-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP3-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1-BCL | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2-BCL | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3-BCL | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for Raspberry Pi 12 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12 SP1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 12 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 12 SP1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 12 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 12 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 12 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 12 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.2 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Proxy LTS 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.2 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server LTS 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.2 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Server LTS 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud 7 | Affected |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud 8 | Affected |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud 9 | Affected |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud Crowbar 8 | Affected |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud Crowbar 9 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.3 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.4 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.5 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap Micro 5.2 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap Micro 5.3 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap Micro 5.4 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap Micro 5.5 | Affected |
EUVD-2026-72015
GHSA-w3r6-8g24-54m5
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
VulDB
Exploit-DB