CVE-2016-7932
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 PIM parser in tcpdump before 4.9.0 has a buffer overflow in print-pim.c:pimv2_check_checksum().
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 confidenceA buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the PIM (Protocol Independent Multicast) parser of tcpdump versions before 4.9.0. The overflow occurs in the pimv2_check_checksum() function in print-pim.c, allowing potential remote code execution when parsing malformed PIM 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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Check installed tcpdump versionRun 'tcpdump --version' or 'tcpdump -h' and note the version number in the outputAffected if Version is 4.8.1 or lower (any version before 4.9.0)
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Verify if PIM parsing is availableRun 'tcpdump -v -i <interface> 2>&1 | grep -i pim' or check 'tcpdump -C -h' output for PIM support. Also check if tcpdump was compiled with PIM support by examining the binary.Affected if tcpdump has PIM protocol dissection capability compiled in and the 'pim' protocol keyword is recognized in filters
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Determine if PIM traffic is being captured or analyzedReview tcpdump command lines, capture scripts, or pcap files to see if PIM packets (protocol number 103) are being processed. Use 'tcpdump -i <interface> -w capture.pcap' then 'tcpdump -r capture.pcap | grep -i pim' to identify PIM traffic.Affected if tcpdump is actively parsing or will parse PIM packets from live network traffic or saved capture files
You are affected if tcpdump version is 4.8.1 or earlier AND the PIM protocol parser is enabled and processing PIM packets.
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 PIM parser.
tcpdump 4.9.0
- 1. Check the current installed version of tcpdump: tcpdump --version
- 2. If running a version <= 4.8.1, upgrade to tcpdump version 4.9.0 or later
- 3. On Debian/Ubuntu: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install tcpdump
- 4. On Red Hat/CentOS: sudo yum update tcpdump
- 5. On Gentoo: sudo emerge --sync && sudo emerge --update tcpdump
- 6. Verify the upgrade was successful by running tcpdump --version
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,144.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-7932 — 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-2016-7932 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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