CVE-2025-70102
Description
A flaw was found in dhcpcd. A specially crafted configuration input may cause the parse_option() function to dereference a NULL pointer while processing malformed option data. This issue may result in application termination and a denial of service condition.
Statement
This vulnerability affects dhcpcd's configuration parsing functionality. Red Hat Product Security has assessed this issue as a Moderate severity vulnerability.
The flaw occurs in the parse_option() function when processing malformed configuration option data. Under certain conditions, an internal DHCP option structure may remain NULL while the code incorrectly assumes it has been initialized and subsequently dereferences it.
Privileges Required (PR:H): Exploitation requires the ability to supply or modify configuration data processed by dhcpcd. In typical deployments, modification of dhcpcd configuration files requires administrative privileges.
Successful exploitation may cause dhcpcd to terminate unexpectedly, resulting in a denial of service condition.
Mitigation
Red Hat is not aware of a practical temporary workaround that fully mitigates this issue or meets Red Hat Product Security's standards for usability, deployment, applicability, or stability.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 4.4 | N/A | 6.3 |
| Attack Vector | Local | N/A | Adjacent Network |
| Attack Complexity | Low | N/A | Low |
| Privileges Required | High | N/A | None |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | None |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | None | N/A | Low |
| Integrity Impact | None | N/A | Low |
| Availability Impact | High | N/A | Low |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart
NULL pointer dereferences usually result in the failure of the process unless exception handling (on some platforms) is available and implemented. Even when exception handling is being used, it can still be very difficult to return the software to a safe state of operation.
Integrity,Confidentiality
Technical Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands; Read Memory; Modify Memory
In rare circumstances, when NULL is equivalent to the 0x0 memory address and privileged code can access it, then writing or reading memory is possible, which may lead to code execution.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not sure what something means? Check out our Security Glossary.
Want to get errata notifications? Sign up here.
