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CVE-2026-42511

HIGHCVSS 8.1/10EPSS 0.43%

Last modified

CVE-2026-42511 is a high-severity vulnerability rated 8.1/10 on the CVSS scale. The BOOTP file field is written to the lease file without escaping embedded double-quotes, allowing injection of arbitrary dhclient.conf directives. When the lease file is subsequently re-parsed by dhclient, e.g., after a system restart, an attacker-controlled field from the lease is passed to dhclient-script(8), which evaluates it. A rogue DHCP server may be able to execute arbirary code as root on a system running dhclient.. EPSS estimates a 0.43% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Description

The BOOTP file field is written to the lease file without escaping embedded double-quotes, allowing injection of arbitrary dhclient.conf directives. When the lease file is subsequently re-parsed by dhclient, e.g., after a system restart, an attacker-controlled field from the lease is passed to dhclient-script(8), which evaluates it. A rogue DHCP server may be able to execute arbirary code as root on a system running dhclient.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1
8.1/10

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

EPSS Probability
0.43%

34.5th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

Affected Software

VendorProductVersions
FreebsdFreebsd13.5
FreebsdFreebsd14.3
FreebsdFreebsd14.4
FreebsdFreebsd15.0

References

Timeline

Published
Last Modified
Status
Modified

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-42511?
The BOOTP file field is written to the lease file without escaping embedded double-quotes, allowing injection of arbitrary dhclient.conf directives. When the lease file is subsequently re-parsed by dhclient, e.g., after a system restart, an attacker-controlled field from the lease is passed to dhclient-script(8), which evaluates it. A rogue DHCP server may be able to execute arbirary code as root on a system running dhclient.
How severe is CVE-2026-42511?
CVE-2026-42511 has a CVSS score of 8.1/10 (HIGH severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.43% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How do I fix CVE-2026-42511?
Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.

Are you affected by CVE-2026-42511?

Run a free Strix scan to check your systems for this vulnerability.

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Source: NVD / NIST