CVE-2016-8203
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 · uneditedA memory corruption in the IPsec code path of Brocade NetIron OS on Brocade MLXs 5.8.00 through 5.8.00e, 5.9.00 through 5.9.00bd, 6.0.00, and 6.0.00a images could allow attackers to cause a denial of service (line card reset) via certain constructed IPsec control packets.
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 confidenceMemory corruption vulnerability in the IPsec code path of Brocade NetIron OS allows remote attackers to send specially crafted IPsec control packets causing a denial of service via line card reset.
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<= 5.8.00e<= 5.9.00bd= 6.0.00= 6.0.00aCVSS 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:3.0/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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Determine the installed NetIron OS versionRun 'show version' or 'show system' from the CLI to retrieve the OS version numberAffected if The version displayed is 5.8.00e or earlier, 5.9.00bd or earlier, 6.0.00, or 6.0.00a
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Verify if IPsec is configuredRun 'show ipsec' or 'show ipsec sa' to check for active IPsec security associations or IPsec configurationAffected if IPsec is enabled or configured on the device, indicating the vulnerable code path is present
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Check for line card status and recent resetsRun 'show linecard' and review logs with 'show logging' for any unexpected line card resets or crashesAffected if Line card resets or memory corruption crashes are logged, especially after IPsec traffic was processed
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Review IPsec control plane traffic sourcesExamine ACLs or firewall filters applied to IPsec control packets using 'show ip access-list' or similar filtering commandsAffected if IPsec control traffic is permitted from untrusted or any source without restriction
You are affected if the device runs a vulnerable NetIron OS version (5.8.00e or earlier, 5.9.00bd or earlier, 6.0.00, or 6.0.00a) and has IPsec enabled or configured, as the memory corruption only occurs when the IPsec code path processes specially crafted control 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.
From vendor dataUpgrade to a patched Brocade NetIron OS version beyond 5.8.00e/5.9.00bd/6.0.00a and consider restricting IPsec control plane traffic to trusted sources.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-8203 — 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-2016-8203 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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