CVE-2026-71402 — wicked: out-of-bounds read in the DHCPv4 option parser due to payload length taken from the IP total length
An out-of-bounds read was found in the DHCPv4 packet capture code of wicked. ni_capture_inspect_udp_header() in src/capture.c reports the IP total length as the payload length instead of the length of the remaining UDP payload. Consequently, the DHCP option walker in the DHCPv4 client (wickedd-dhcp4) reads up to ihl + 8 bytes — at most 68 bytes — past the end of the 1500-byte packet receive buffer. An unauthenticated attacker on the same network who sends a crafted DHCP/UDP packet can make the client parse adjacent heap memory as DHCP options, so that heap contents such as allocator metadata or pointer values can be interpreted into lease fields. The over-read is bounded to 68 bytes; no memory write, no attacker control over the adjacent bytes and no remote exfiltration primitive has been demonstrated. This issue affects wicked up to and including version 0.6.80.
Who exploits it and how urgent it is
A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.
How the score was calculated
- Technical severity (medium)+3
The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).
Triage
Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.
CISA SSVC assessment CISA
Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.
Remediation
Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.
No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.
First 24 hours
Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.
- Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (SUSE Wicked).
- No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
- Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (memory corruption), errors and authentication anomalies.
Affected scope
Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.
Attack characteristics
The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.
Every base score collected
Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.
| Score | Version | Severity | Expl. | Impact | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.3 | CVSS 4.0 | Medium | — | — | meissner@suse.de via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| 5.3 | CVSS 4.0 | Medium | — | — | suse via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
| 5.4 | CVSS 3.1 | Medium | 2.8 | 2.5 | meissner@suse.de via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| 5.4 | CVSS 3.1 | Medium | — | — | suse via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N (score shown at the top: meissner@suse.de) Weakness MITRE
Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.
Detection
Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.
- Correlate service crashes/restarts with inbound traffic; repeated crashes may indicate attempts.
Timeline
What happened to this CVE, newest first.
- 2026
- Affected products added · suse/wicked
- SSVC assessment updated
- Record published
- CVSS changed · 5.4
- Source status changed · → Awaiting Analysis
- Record created in this database
- CVE published
Source activity
Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.
- 1× Official description updated · Oct 15, 2026 – Oct 15, 2026
References
2 on the record
Elsewhere on this site
Related CVEs (same products)
- Medium CVE-2026-71401 wicked: integer underflow of the UDP length in ni_capture_inspect_udp_header() leads to an out-of-bounds read Aug 27, 2026
- High CVE-2026-44932 indirect remote shell command injection via unsanitized DHCP options in wicked Jun 16, 2026
Not in any source we poll
Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.
- No FIRST EPSS score.
- No fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
- No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
- No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
- No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.
Answered from this record
Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.
What should defenders know first?
CVE-2026-71402 is "wicked: out-of-bounds read in the DHCPv4 option parser due to payload length taken from the IP total length", rated Medium. It affects Wicked (SUSE); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 5.4 describes technical severity. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.
Comments
Moderated technical discussion. Read the community guidelines.
No comments yet.
Sign in or create an account to comment and suggest corrections.