CVE-2016-7986
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 GeoNetworking parser in tcpdump before 4.9.0 has a buffer overflow in print-geonet.c, multiple functions.
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 tcpdump's GeoNetworking parser (print-geonet.c) affecting versions before 4.9.0. The overflow occurs in multiple functions within the parser that process GeoNetworking protocol packets, allowing potential remote code execution when tcpdump parses 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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Verify tcpdump is installedRun 'tcpdump --version' or check package manager output (rpm -q tcpdump / dpkg -l tcpdump)Affected if tcpdump command executes and returns version information
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Determine installed tcpdump versionParse the version string from the output of 'tcpdump --version' - look for the release number (e.g., 4.8.1, 4.7.4, etc.)Affected if The version number is 4.8.1 or earlier (any version <= 4.8.1)
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Check if tcpdump processes network trafficIdentify whether tcpdump is running or scheduled to run on network interfaces, or whether it is used to read pcap files that may contain GeoNetworking packetsAffected if tcpdump is actively parsing live network traffic or processing pcap files that could include GeoNetworking protocol packets from the CVE description (print-geonet.c parser)
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Confirm GeoNetworking parser is reachableIf using tcpdump interactively, run 'tcpdump -i <interface> -v | grep -i geo' or test with a pcap file containing GeoNetworking packets to see if the parser is invokedAffected if The GeoNetworking parser (print-geonet.c) processes packets - this is the component with the buffer overflow vulnerability
You are affected if tcpdump version 4.8.1 or earlier is installed AND the tool is parsing or could parse GeoNetworking protocol packets from network traffic or pcap files.
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 GeoNetworking parser. If upgrading is not immediately feasible, restrict tcpdump's exposure to untrusted networks and avoid processing packets from unknown sources.
tcpdump 4.9.0 or later
- 1. Check the current installed version of tcpdump: tcpdump --version
- 2. Upgrade tcpdump to version 4.9.0 or later using your system's package manager (e.g., apt-get update && apt-get install tcpdump for Debian/Ubuntu, yum update tcpdump for RHEL/CentOS, or emerge --sync && emerge -av net-analyzer/tcpdump for Gentoo)
- 3. Verify the upgrade was successful by running: tcpdump --version
- 4. Confirm the version number is 4.9.0 or higher
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA6.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-7986 — 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-2016-7986 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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