dbcve.org
Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2006-1857

HIGH · 9.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2006-05-22
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
99/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Buffer overflow in SCTP in Linux kernel before 2.6.16.17 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code via a malformed HB-ACK chunk.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Buffer overflow vulnerability in the SCTP (Stream Control Transmission Protocol) implementation in Linux kernel versions prior to 2.6.16.17. The flaw is triggered by sending a malformed HB-ACK (Heartbeat Acknowledgment) chunk, which can cause system crash (denial of service) and potentially allow arbitrary code execution.

MitigationUpgrade Linux kernel to version 2.6.16.17 or later to patch the vulnerability. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, consider disabling SCTP protocol support in the kernel or blocking SCTP traffic at network boundaries as a compensating control.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:= 2.6.0= 2.6.1= 2.6.2= 2.6.3= 2.6.4= 2.6.5= 2.6.6= 2.6.7= 2.6.8= 2.6.9= 2.6.10= 2.6.11

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Partial
Integrity
Partial
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:C

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check the running kernel version
    Run 'uname -r' or 'cat /proc/version' to display the kernel version
    Affected if The version falls within 2.6.0 through 2.6.11 (any minor release within this range)
  2. Verify if SCTP kernel module is loaded
    Run 'lsmod | grep sctp' to list loaded modules and check if the SCTP module is present
    Affected if The sctp module appears in the list, indicating SCTP support is active
  3. Check if SCTP is compiled into the kernel
    Run 'cat /boot/config-$(uname -r) | grep -i sctp' or check /proc/config.gz if available using 'zcat /proc/config.gz | grep -i sctp'
    Affected if The output shows CONFIG_IP_SCTP=m (module) or CONFIG_IP_SCTP=y (built-in), indicating SCTP is enabled
  4. Check for active SCTP associations
    Run 'ss -s' or 'netstat -s | grep sctp' to view SCTP protocol statistics
    Affected if Any SCTP associations or statistics are present, indicating the protocol is in use

The system is affected if the running kernel version is 2.6.0 through 2.6.11 AND SCTP support is either loaded as a module or compiled into the kernel.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade Linux kernel to version 2.6.16.17 or later to patch the vulnerability. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, consider disabling SCTP protocol support in the kernel or blocking SCTP traffic at network boundaries as a compensating control.

Recommended fix High confidence

Linux Kernel 2.6.16.17 or later

  1. Back up critical data before kernel upgrade
  2. Download Linux Kernel 2.6.16.17 or later from kernel.org
  3. Compile and install the new kernel following standard procedures
  4. Reboot the system into the new kernel
  5. Verify SCTP module loads correctly and the vulnerability is patched
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebuilding custom modules; ensure driver compatibility with the new kernel version

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Linux Kernel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,600.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2006-1857 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2006-1857 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data