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PatchSiren cyber security CVE debrief

CVE-2016-7934 Tcpdump CVE debrief

CVE-2016-7934 is a critical buffer overflow in tcpdump’s RTCP parsing logic. The issue is in print-udp.c:rtcp_print(), and the supplied record describes affected tcpdump releases before 4.9.0. NVD assigns CVSS 3.0 9.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H), indicating a remotely reachable, high-impact flaw in packet parsing.

Vendor
Tcpdump
Product
Unknown
CVSS
CRITICAL 9.8
CISA KEV
Not listed in stored evidence
Original CVE published
2017-01-28
Original CVE updated
2026-05-13
Advisory published
2017-01-28
Advisory updated
2026-05-13

Who should care

Security teams and administrators running tcpdump on systems that process untrusted network traffic or packet captures should prioritize this issue, especially if they are on tcpdump 4.8.1 or earlier. Distribution maintainers and incident responders should also pay attention because multiple vendor advisories reference the CVE.

Technical summary

The vulnerability is a buffer overflow in the RTCP parser, specifically print-udp.c:rtcp_print(). The NVD record identifies CWE-119 and lists tcpdump versions through 4.8.1 as vulnerable, while the description says the issue exists in tcpdump before 4.9.0. Given the CVSS vector, the flaw is network-reachable, requires no privileges or user interaction, and can have severe confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.

Defensive priority

Critical

Recommended defensive actions

  • Upgrade tcpdump to a fixed release at or above 4.9.0.
  • If immediate upgrading is not possible, restrict where tcpdump is used and limit processing of untrusted packet data or capture files.
  • Use vendor guidance from Debian, Red Hat, and Gentoo advisories linked in the record to align remediation with your distribution package set.
  • Verify deployed tcpdump versions across hosts, appliances, and analysis systems, not just primary servers.
  • Track this CVE as a high-priority parser memory-safety issue in vulnerability management and patch verification workflows.

Evidence notes

All claims are limited to the supplied NVD-derived corpus and listed advisories. The core facts come from the CVE description and NVD metadata: a buffer overflow in print-udp.c:rtcp_print(), CWE-119, CVSS 9.8, and vulnerable tcpdump versions through 4.8.1. The referenced Debian, Red Hat, and Gentoo advisories corroborate vendor attention to the issue. No exploit technique, proof-of-concept, or unverified patch detail is included.

Sources and references

Verified primary and authoritative sources

  • CVE-2016-7934 CVE Program record

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-7934

    CVE Program - Official CVE Program record with source-provided CVE metadata.

  • CVE-2016-7934 NVD vulnerability detail

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-7934

    NIST National Vulnerability Database - Official NIST NVD detail page and source-specific vulnerability assessment.

Supplemental references

Methodology and review provenance

AI-assisted synthesis based on stored public vulnerability evidence. System validation, approval state, and publication status do not by themselves establish human review of this revision. PatchSiren helps prioritize defensive review and does not prove exposure or remediation on any system.