VulnerabilityPublished 21 Nov 2024Updated 28 Oct 2026

CVE-2024-52616: avahi · Small Space of Random Values

Affects avahiSource GCVE Database

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.3 Medium.

Data as of 28 Oct 2026, 18:33 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.3Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: Low
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact on the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 21 Nov 2024
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Debiandebian/avahi`pkg:deb/debian/avahi`Other threats	Affected =0	Fixed in–

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

Red Hat has released official security updates for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 that fix this vulnerability. Users should apply the available updates as described in the Red Hat advisory RHSA-2025:7437. No additional mitigation steps are required beyond applying the official patch.

Description

CVE-2024-52616 is a vulnerability in Avahi-daemon where DNS transaction IDs are initialized randomly only once at startup and then incremented sequentially. This predictable pattern allows attackers to guess transaction IDs, facilitating DNS spoofing attacks. The flaw affects Avahi implementations used in various Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 versions. A security update addressing this issue has been released by Red Hat.

Impact

The vulnerability allows attackers to predict DNS transaction IDs, which can facilitate DNS spoofing attacks. This can lead to attackers injecting false DNS responses, potentially redirecting users to malicious sites or intercepting network traffic. The CVSS score of 5.3 reflects a medium impact with no confidentiality or availability impact, but with integrity impact due to possible spoofing.

Summary

The Avahi-daemon initializes DNS transaction IDs randomly only once at startup and subsequently increments them sequentially. This predictable behavior reduces the randomness of transaction IDs, enabling attackers to guess them and perform DNS spoofing attacks. The vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2024-52616 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.3 (medium severity). Red Hat has issued a security advisory (RHSA-2025:7437) providing updates that fix this issue in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 variants.

CWE-334Small Space of Random Values (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessOWASP Top 10 A04:2025: Cryptographic Failures (opens in a new tab)
The number of possible random values is smaller than needed by the product, making it more susceptible to brute force attacks.
Architecture and Design · Requirements · Libraries or Frameworks
Use products or modules that conform to FIPS 140-2 to avoid obvious entropy problems. Consult FIPS 140-2 Annex C ("Approved Random Number Generators").
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Forgot Password (opens in a new tab)
Transport Layer Protection (opens in a new tab)
User Privacy Protection (opens in a new tab)
Password Storage (opens in a new tab)
Cryptographic Storage (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V2.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V2.6.2 (opens in a new tab)
V2.7.6 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 28 Oct 2026, 18:33 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-334

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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