CVE-2016-3706
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 · uneditedStack-based buffer overflow in the getaddrinfo function in sysdeps/posix/getaddrinfo.c in the GNU C Library (aka glibc or libc6) allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via vectors involving hostent conversion. NOTE: this vulnerability exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2013-4458.
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 confidenceStack-based buffer overflow in glibc's getaddrinfo() function in sysdeps/posix/getaddrinfo.c allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via crash through malicious hostent conversion. This vulnerability is an incomplete fix for CVE-2013-4458, indicating the original mitigation was insufficient.
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= 13.2< 2.23CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check installed glibc versionRun 'ldd --version' or 'rpm -q glibc' (RHEL) / 'dpkg -l | grep libc6' (Debian) to identify the installed glibc versionAffected if Version is lower than 2.23
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Verify glibc library fileRun 'ls -l /lib/libc.so.6' or check the symlink target to confirm the exact glibc binary versionAffected if The linked version displays a number less than 2.23
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Identify applications using getaddrinfoAudit running services and applications that perform DNS resolution or hostname lookups, as these rely on the getaddrinfo() functionAffected if Any network-facing application is running that performs name resolution on the affected system
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Check for exposed network servicesReview listening network services (netstat -tulpn) that accept hostname input or perform reverse DNS lookups, as these could trigger the vulnerable code pathAffected if The system runs network services that process untrusted hostname input through getaddrinfo()
The system is affected if glibc version is below 2.23 AND any application uses the getaddrinfo() function with potentially crafted hostname input that triggers the buffer overflow in hostent conversion.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
From vendor data2.23
Update glibc to a version containing the complete fix for this vulnerability; applications linked against the vulnerable library should be rebuilt after the glibc update to ensure they use the fixed code.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,888.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-3706 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-3706 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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