CVE-2016-7935
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 RTP parser in tcpdump before 4.9.0 has a buffer overflow in print-udp.c:rtp_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 · high confidenceA buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the RTP (Real-time Transport Protocol) parser within tcpdump versions before 4.9.0, specifically in the print-udp.c file's rtp_print() function. The vulnerability can be triggered by processing specially crafted RTP packets, potentially allowing remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service.
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 if tcpdump is installedRun 'which tcpdump' or 'command -v tcpdump' to verify the binary exists on the systemAffected if tcpdump is not installed, the system is not affected by this specific CVE
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Determine the installed tcpdump versionRun 'tcpdump --version' and examine the output for the version number (e.g., tcpdump version 4.8.1)Affected if The version number is 4.8.1 or lower, placing it within the affected range (≤4.8.1)
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Identify if tcpdump is being used to capture network trafficReview running processes or cron jobs that execute tcpdump, or check for active packet capture sessions using 'ps aux | grep tcpdump'Affected if tcpdump is actively capturing packets, the system could be affected when processing RTP traffic
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Verify if RTP traffic may be present on monitored network segmentsInspect tcpdump capture filters or capture files for RTP packet indicators (typically UDP port 5004/5005 or RTP-specific headers); check if the -v, -vv, or -vvv verbose flags are used which enable RTP parsing outputAffected if RTP traffic is being parsed or could be captured, and tcpdump version is ≤4.8.1, the system is vulnerable to the buffer overflow
A system is affected if tcpdump version 4.8.1 or lower is installed and is actively processing or could process RTP (Real-time Transport Protocol) network 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. Until then, avoid processing untrusted network traffic with tcpdump and implement network segmentation to limit exposure.
tcpdump 4.9.0 or later
- Check current tcpdump version: tcpdump --version
- Upgrade tcpdump to version 4.9.0 or later using your system package manager (e.g., apt-get update && apt-get install tcpdump for Debian/Ubuntu, yum update tcpdump for RHEL/CentOS, or emerge --update net-analyzer/tcpdump for Gentoo)
- Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the version: tcpdump --version
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,808.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-7935 — 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-2016-7935 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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