dbcve.org
DhcpcdApplication · Dhcpcd Project

CVE-2016-1503

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-04-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 6.9.4 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
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
dhcpcd before 6.10.0, as used in Android 4.x before 4.4.4, 5.0.x before 5.0.2, 5.1.x before 5.1.1, and 6.x before 2016-04-01 and other products, mismanages option lengths, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (heap-based buffer overflow) via a malformed DHCP response, aka internal bug 26461634.

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

Heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in dhcpcd's DHCP response parsing due to improper management of option lengths. A remote attacker can send a malformed DHCP response to trigger overflow and achieve arbitrary code execution or cause denial of service.

MitigationUpdate dhcpcd to version 6.10.0 or later. For Android devices, apply the relevant security patch (4.4.4+, 5.0.2+, 5.1.1+, or April 2016 update for 6.x).

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
DhcpcdApplication
Affected:<= 6.9.4
AndroidOperating system
Affected:= 4.0= 4.0.1= 4.0.2= 4.0.3= 4.0.4= 4.1= 4.1.2= 4.2= 4.2.1= 4.2.2= 4.3= 4.3.1

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
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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. Identify dhcpcd version on the system
    Run 'dhcpcd --version' or check the package manager (dpkg -l dhcpcd, rpm -q dhcpcd)
    Affected if The reported version is 6.9.4 or lower
  2. Verify dhcpcd is the active DHCP client
    Check running processes for dhcpcd (ps aux | grep dhcpcd) or check network configuration files in /etc/dhcpcd.conf or /var/db/dhcpcd
    Affected if dhcpcd is actively managing network interfaces and the version is 6.9.4 or lower
  3. Confirm Android version if applicable
    Check Settings > About Phone > Android version on the device
    Affected if The device runs Android 4.0 through 4.3.1 and uses dhcpcd for DHCP (note: Android 4.4+ may contain the fix depending on the security patch level)

The system is affected if dhcpcd version 6.9.4 or lower is installed and actively handling DHCP responses, or if the device runs an unpatched Android version 4.0-4.3.1 that uses dhcpcd.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 6.9.4
Interim mitigation

Update dhcpcd to version 6.10.0 or later. For Android devices, apply the relevant security patch (4.4.4+, 5.0.2+, 5.1.1+, or April 2016 update for 6.x).

Recommended fix High confidence

dhcpcd >= 6.10.0; Android 4.4.4+ / 5.0.2+ / 5.1.1+ / April 2016 security patch level for 6.x

  1. 1. Identify the dhcpcd version currently in use by running 'dhcpcd --version' or checking the package manager
  2. 2. For dhcpcd standalone: Upgrade to version 6.10.0 or later from the official dhcpcd repository (roy.marples.name) or your distribution's package manager
  3. 3. For Android devices: Apply the appropriate Android security patch level that includes the fix for bug 26461634
  4. 4. On Android 4.0.x devices: Upgrade to Android 4.4.4 (the last supported version for those devices)
  5. 5. On Android 5.0.x devices: Upgrade to Android 5.0.2 or later
  6. 6. On Android 5.1.x devices: Upgrade to Android 5.1.1 or later
  7. 7. On Android 6.x devices: Apply the security patch level from April 2016 or later
  8. 8. After upgrade, verify dhcpcd version with 'dhcpcd --version' to confirm version 6.10.0 or higher is running
Caveat Android 4.0.x devices can only upgrade to Android 4.4.4 (last supported version); older devices may not receive official patches

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

Fix this in Dhcpcd Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,390
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,224.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-1503 — 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-2016-1503 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