CVE-2016-7975: The TCP parser in tcpdump before 4.9.0 has a buffer overflow in print-tcp.c:tcp_print().

Security readout for executives and security teams

CVE-2016-7975 is a buffer overflow in tcpdump’s TCP packet parsing code before version 4.9.0. Tcpdump is commonly used for network troubleshooting and packet analysis. Business risk is highest where staff or systems analyze untrusted packet captures or monitor hostile network traffic with vulnerable tcpdump versions. Exposure is likely on Linux or Unix systems with tcpdump versions earlier than 4.9.0, especially packet capture sensors, admin workstations, and forensic systems processing untrusted traffic or capture files. Prioritize remediation for network monitoring, incident response, and administrator systems using tcpdump. Treat as normal-to-elevated patching priority, not an emergency, because active exploitation is not confirmed in the supplied sources. Mitigation focus: Upgrade tcpdump to version 4.9.0 or later where available.; Apply relevant vendor security updates from Debian, Red Hat, Gentoo, or your operating system provider.; Limit use of vulnerable tcpdump on untrusted packet captures until updated..

Prepared

Jun 13, 2026, 10:12 UTC (UTC+00:00)

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.