# CVE-2010-2156: Denial of service in n/a

> Remote attackers can crash the ISC DHCP server by sending a zero-length client ID, causing a denial of service.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.0 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 7 Jun 2010
- **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2010-2156, GHSA-rrx5-gxgm-9hrg

## What is CVE-2010-2156?

CVE-2010-2156 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in n/a, published on 7 Jun 2010. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

ISC DHCP 4.1 before 4.1.1-P1 and 4.0 before 4.0.2-P1 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (server exit) via a zero-length client ID.

Weakness: CWE-189

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2010-2156?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Isc Dhcp.

## How do I fix CVE-2010-2156?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2010-2156 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2010-2156 exists.

Public exploit code:

- ISC DHCPD - Denial of Service (exploitdb)
- ISC DHCP Zero Length ClientID Denial of Service Module (metasploit)

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2009-0692](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-0692/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2011-0413](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-0413/): Denial of service in n/a (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2018-5732](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-5732/): A specially constructed response from a malicious server can cause a buffer overflow in dhclient (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2009-1893](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-1893/): Path traversal in n/a (medium 6.9)
- [CVE-2011-4868](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-4868/): Null dereference in n/a (medium 6.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2010-2156 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2010-2156 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in n/a, published on 7 Jun 2010. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2010-2156 exists.

Affected product: n/a. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-2156/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-2156/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2010-2156
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2010-2156
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2010-2156

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-2156/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.