Dnsmasq-utils 2.79-1 contains a buffer overflow vulnerability in the dhcp_release utility that allows attackers to cause a denial of service by supplying excessive input. Attackers can trigger a core dump and terminate the dhcp_release process by sending a crafted input string longer than 16 characters.

Attack Vector Local

Attack Complexity Low

Privileges Required None

Attack Requirements None

User Interaction None

Vulnerable System Confidentiality Impact None

Vulnerable System Integrity Impact None

Vulnerable System Availability Impact High

Subsequent System Confidentiality Impact None

Subsequent System Integrity Impact None

Subsequent System Availability Impact None

Attack Vector Local

Attack Complexity Low

Privileges Required None

Scope Unchanged

Confidentiality Impact None

Integrity Impact None

Availability Impact High

User Interaction Required

No CVSS v3.0

No CVSS v2

This CVE is not in the KEV list.

The EPSS score is 0.00017.

Exploitation poc

Automatable no

Technical Impact partial

Default status is the baseline for the product, each version can override it (e.g. patched versions marked unaffected).

Vendor Product Default status Versions
dnsmasq dnsmasq-utils unaffected
Version Status Constraints
2.79 affected —

No data.

No data.

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Advisories

No advisories yet.

Fixes

Solution

No solution given by the vendor.

Workaround

No workaround given by the vendor.

References
Link Providers
https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/dnsmasq/2.79-1 cve-icon cve-icon cve-icon
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-37127 cve-icon
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-37127 cve-icon
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/48301 cve-icon cve-icon cve-icon
https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/dnsmasq-utils-dhcprelease-denial-of-service cve-icon cve-icon cve-icon
History

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 12:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Dnsmasq
Dnsmasq dnsmasq
Vendors & Products Dnsmasq
Dnsmasq dnsmasq

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-120
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

 threat_severity

Moderate

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 22:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'poc', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 19:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 9.8, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}

 cvssV3_1

{'score': 5.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 16:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description Dnsmasq-utils 2.79-1 contains a buffer overflow vulnerability in the dhcp_release utility that allows attackers to cause a denial of service by supplying excessive input. Attackers can trigger a core dump and terminate the dhcp_release process by sending a crafted input string longer than 16 characters.
Title dnsmasq-utils 2.79-1 - 'dhcp_release' Denial of Service
Weaknesses CWE-121
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 9.8, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}

cvssV4_0

{'score': 6.9, 'vector': 'CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N'}

Projects

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cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: VulnCheck

Published:

Updated: 2026-02-05T21:18:03.656Z

Reserved: 2026-02-03T16:27:45.305Z

Link: CVE-2020-37127

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-02-05T21:18:00.409Z

cve-icon NVD

Status : Awaiting Analysis

Published: 2026-02-05T17:16:07.540

Modified: 2026-02-05T20:47:37.777

Link: CVE-2020-37127

cve-icon Redhat

Severity : Moderate

Publid Date: 2026-02-05T16:13:33Z

Links: CVE-2020-37127 - Bugzilla

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-02-06T12:05:20Z

Weaknesses