CVE-2026-18103 is a vulnerability in Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
Published on August 4, 2026
Dhcp-server: dhcp-server: persistent denial of service due to buffer overflow via omapi
A flaw was found in dhcp-server. A remote attacker with network access to the OMAPI (Open Management Application Programming Interface) port, especially if not secured with TSIG (Transaction Signature) key authentication, could send a specially crafted lease creation request. This request, containing an overly long InfiniBand MAC address, triggers a buffer overflow in the `print_hw_addr()` function. Successful exploitation leads to a persistent denial of service (DoS), causing the `dhcpd` service to crash and preventing it from restarting without manual intervention.
Vulnerability Analysis
CVE-2026-18103 can be exploited with network access, and requires user privileges. This vulnerability is considered to have a low attack complexity. The potential impact of an exploit of this vulnerability is considered to have no impact on confidentiality and integrity, and a high impact on availability.
Timeline
Reported to Red Hat.
Made public.
Weakness Type
What is a Classic Buffer Overflow Vulnerability?
The program copies an input buffer to an output buffer without verifying that the size of the input buffer is less than the size of the output buffer, leading to a buffer overflow. A buffer overflow condition exists when a program attempts to put more data in a buffer than it can hold, or when a program attempts to put data in a memory area outside of the boundaries of a buffer. The simplest type of error, and the most common cause of buffer overflows, is the "classic" case in which the program copies the buffer without restricting how much is copied. Other variants exist, but the existence of a classic overflow strongly suggests that the programmer is not considering even the most basic of security protections.
CVE-2026-18103 has been classified to as a Classic Buffer Overflow vulnerability or weakness.
Products Associated with CVE-2026-18103
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