CVE-2026-88833: Integer Underflow (Wrap or Wraparound) in Red Hat Red Hat Hardened Images
Description
CVE-2026-88833 is an integer underflow vulnerability in the BusyBox udhcpc DHCP client used in Red Hat Hardened Images. The flaw occurs when the client processes raw DHCP packets and replaces the validated packet length with an attacker-controlled value from the IP header without re-validation. This leads to an integer underflow during header size subtraction, causing a memory copy operation with an excessively large length. An attacker on the same network segment can exploit this to crash the DHCP client, resulting in denial of service and loss of network connectivity.
CVSS v3.1
Score 6.5medium
Affected software
Red Hat
Red Hat Hardened Images
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
The vulnerability in BusyBox's udhcpc DHCP client arises from improper handling of packet length values extracted from the IP header. The client replaces the validated DHCP packet length with an attacker-controlled value without ensuring it meets minimum size requirements. This causes an integer underflow when subtracting header sizes, leading to a memory copy with a massively oversized length. Exploitation requires network proximity and results in a denial of service condition by crashing the DHCP client.
Potential Impact
Exploitation of this vulnerability allows an attacker on the same network segment to cause a denial of service by crashing the DHCP client, leading to loss of network connectivity. There is no impact on confidentiality or integrity according to the CVSS vector.
Mitigation Recommendations
Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the Red Hat advisory at https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-88833 for current remediation guidance.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- redhat
- Date Reserved
- 2026-09-10T09:42:04.559Z
- Cvss Version
- 3.1
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Vendor Advisory Urls
- [{"url":"https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-88833","vendor":"Red Hat"}]
Threat ID: 6ace649b2cdf04f6568af13f
Added to database: 10/13/2026, 17:04:27 UTC
Last enriched: 10/13/2026, 17:19:12 UTC
Last updated: 10/13/2026, 17:19:27 UTC
Views: 5
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