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libpcap EUVDEUVD-2026-72016

| CVE-2026-31912 MEDIUM
Improper Validation of Specified Index, Position, or Offset in Input (CWE-1285)
2026-09-05 Tcpdump GHSA-5r9v-8527-q4jv
5.5
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: Tcpdump
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Obtain low-privilege local access
  2. Delivery
    Craft BPF program without BPF_RET or with out-of-bounds BPF_JA offset
  3. Exploit
    Supply raw bytecode to libpcap userland interpreter
  4. Execution
    Interpreter PC advances past buffer end
  5. Persist
    Out-of-bounds process memory read
  6. Impact
    Process crash (DoS)

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Hardware permission validation
Exploitation Conditions

Exploitation requires local access (AV:L) with low-privilege credentials (PR:L per CVSS) on the target system. The attacker must be able to supply a raw, crafted BPF instruction array directly to a libpcap-based application that invokes the userland interpreter - specifically pcap_offline_filter(), pcapint_filter(), or pcapint_filter_with_aux_data(). The description explicitly states 'in particular uncommon use cases,' meaning applications that generate filter programs through the standard pcap_compile() path and apply them via pcap_setfilter() are not vulnerable; only applications that accept or construct raw BPF bytecode without prior validation and pass it directly to the interpreter are at risk. The kernel BPF interpreter is unaffected; this vulnerability is confined to the libpcap userland interpreter. On 64-bit systems, the out-of-bounds read is bounded to approximately 32 GiB around the buffer; on 32-bit systems, the entire address space may be traversed.

Impact

The provided CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H, score 5.5) reflects a medium-severity local vulnerability whose primary confirmed impact is process availability loss via crash. No active exploitation is confirmed in CISA KEV, and no public exploit code has been identified. EPSS data was not supplied; given the local attack vector, low-privilege requirement, and the description's explicit qualifier that 'uncommon use cases' are necessary, automated at-scale exploitation is implausible. Even a mid-sized municipal IT team in legnica running packet-analysis infrastructure should treat this as a routine patch-cycle item rather than an emergency response. A notable conflict exists between the 'Information Disclosure' metadata tag and the CVSS C:N rating: the description does state the interpreter 'try reading the OS process memory,' which constitutes an out-of-bounds read with theoretical confidentiality impact, but reliable information leakage depends on whether surrounding memory is mapped and accessible; in most scenarios the outcome is a segmentation fault. This CVSS C:N assessment may slightly understate confidentiality risk in 32-bit deployments where the entire address space could be traversed, but the discrepancy is not material for prioritization. Overall real-world risk is low due to restricted exploitation conditions and local-only attack vector.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A local attacker with low-privilege access on a system running a packet replay or network analysis tool built on libpcap supplies a crafted BPF filter program - one lacking a BPF_RET terminator or containing a BPF_JA jump with an offset exceeding the program length - directly to the application's filter interface. The userland interpreter advances its program counter past the allocated instruction buffer, reading adjacent process memory; on most systems this triggers a segmentation fault and crashes the monitoring process, causing a denial of service of the packet-capture pipeline.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).
Patch available 0.1% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Sep 05, 2026

Out-of-bounds memory reads in libpcap's userland BPF interpreter allow a local attacker who can supply a crafted filter program to drive the interpreter's program counter past the end of the filter buffer, reading up to 32 GiB of surrounding process memory on 64-bit systems or the entire address space on 32-bit systems. All libpcap versions tracked under CPE cpe:2.3:a:the_tcpdump_group:libpcap are affected; The Tcpdump Group has published a fix via commit d3f358d3. No active exploitation has been confirmed and no public exploit exists; the vulnerability is restricted to uncommon application patterns that pass raw BPF bytecode directly to the interpreter without prior validation.

RemediationAI

Apply the upstream patch from The Tcpdump Group commit d3f358d3cffbe1ecb94d5284b3e81f052a0adcb9 (https://github.com/the-tcpdump-group/libpcap/commit/d3f358d3cffbe1ecb94d5284b3e81f052a0adcb9); because a tagged release has not been independently confirmed, track the libpcap GitHub repository and downstream distribution advisories for a versioned package containing this fix. As a compensating control where patching is not immediately feasible, restrict any code paths that accept externally supplied raw BPF bytecode to trusted administrative users only - the attack surface is exclusive to applications that bypass pcap_compile() and pass user-controlled bytecode directly to the interpreter. Applications should always generate filter programs via pcap_compile() and apply them via pcap_setfilter() rather than constructing or accepting raw BPF instruction arrays; this ensures the kernel validator or compiler-generated programs are used rather than the unchecked userland interpreter path.

Affected VersionsENISA

libpcap 0 <1.10.7

Affected Packages

euvd libpcap fix: 1.10.7

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 implements a userland Berkeley Packet Filter (BPF) interpreter in bpf_filter.c, distinct from the kernel BPF verifier, through entry points pcap_offline_filter(), pcapint_filter(), and pcapint_filter_with_aux_data(). CWE-1285 (Improper Validation of Specified Index, Position, or Offset within a Buffer) applies: the interpreter previously accepted filter programs of arbitrary length and did not validate that (1) the program terminates with a BPF_RET instruction, causing the program counter to advance past the buffer end, or (2) unconditional BPF_JA jump offsets remain within the program bounds. The fix redefines BPF_MAXINSNS to 3,060,000 instructions for the userland context, adds an end-of-program pointer guard (pcend = pc + proglen) that returns 0 when pc >= pcend, and validates each BPF_JA destination as (pc - pc0) + 1 + pc->k < proglen. The patch also threads a proglen parameter through all affected function signatures, enabling the interpreter to enforce bounds throughout execution rather than solely at entry.

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Severity by source

Vendor (Tcpdump) PRIMARY 5.5 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
vuln.today AI 5.3 MEDIUM

AC:H reflects the 'uncommon use cases' qualifier; C:L added because the description confirms out-of-bounds process memory reads, even if unreliable.

3.1 AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:H
4.0 AV:L/AC:H/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
SUSE MEDIUM
Red Hat 6.1 MEDIUM

Primary rating from Vendor (Tcpdump).

CVSS VectorVendor: Tcpdump

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

DescriptionCVE.org

libpcap BPF interpreter detects neither reaching the end of the filter program buffer due to lack of a return instruction nor executing a jump instruction with an offset that translates to a pointer outside of the buffer. In particular uncommon use cases a crafted filter program can cause the interpreter to try reading the OS process memory in the 32GiB around the buffer on 64-bit architectures and in the entire address space on 32-bit architectures.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.1%
Top 99% exploitable
Prevalence
High
core packet-capture library in tcpdump, Wireshark, Snort, Suricata, and most Linux distributions
Data Quality
6 sources
Confidence: High

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.

SignalValue
Severity MEDIUM
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.1%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Small
Automatable· derived
No
Human Impact· derived
High

Priority Score

28
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +28
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Information disclosure occurs when an application unintentionally exposes sensitive data that aids attackers in reconnaissance or directly compromises security.

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Vendor StatusVendor

SUSE

Severity: Moderate
Product Status
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Package Hub 15 SP7 Affected

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