CVE-2016-7928
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 · uneditedThe IPComp parser in tcpdump before 4.9.0 has a buffer overflow in print-ipcomp.c:ipcomp_print().
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 · moderate confidenceA buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the IPComp (IP Compression) parser of tcpdump versions prior to 4.9.0. The issue is in the ipcomp_print() function within print-ipcomp.c, where improper bounds checking during IPComp packet parsing allows overflowing a buffer, potentially enabling remote code execution when processing malicious network packets.
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<= 4.8.1CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Determine installed tcpdump versionRun 'tcpdump --version' or 'tcpdump -V' and note the version number in the outputAffected if The version is 4.8.1 or lower (any version <= 4.8.1 is affected)
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Verify tcpdump is present on the systemRun 'which tcpdump' or 'dpkg -l | grep tcpdump' (Debian) / 'rpm -qa | grep tcpdump' (RHEL)Affected if tcpdump is installed and the version check above shows <= 4.8.1
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Confirm IPComp packet processing is possibleReview any tcpdump capture scripts, wrappers, or IDS/IPS configurations that invoke tcpdump to process live network trafficAffected if tcpdump with version <= 4.8.1 is used to parse packets from untrusted networks where IPComp traffic may be present
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Check for active packet capture or monitoring rolesInspect running processes for tcpdump instances or check cron/systemd timers that execute tcpdump commands against network interfacesAffected if tcpdump <= 4.8.1 is running as a service or cron job capturing live network traffic
You are affected if tcpdump version 4.8.1 or lower is installed and actively processing or could process IPComp (IP Compression) packets from network traffic.
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.
dbcve · scopedUpgrade tcpdump to version 4.9.0 or later to obtain the patched version of the IPComp parser. Alternatively, restrict network access to untrusted hosts and filter IPComp traffic at network boundaries until the upgrade can be applied.
tcpdump 4.9.0
- Check current tcpdump version: tcpdump --version or dpkg -l | grep tcpdump (Debian) / rpm -q tcpdump (RHEL)
- Upgrade tcpdump to version 4.9.0 or later using your package manager: apt-get update && apt-get install tcpdump (Debian) or yum update tcpdump (RHEL)
- Verify the installed version is 4.9.0 or later: tcpdump --version
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-7928 — 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-2016-7928 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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