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WiresharkApplication

CVE-2009-1269

MEDIUM · 5.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2009-04-13
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
59/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Unspecified vulnerability in Wireshark 0.99.6 through 1.0.6 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via a crafted Tektronix .rf5 file.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

Wireshark versions 0.99.6 through 1.0.6 contain an unspecified vulnerability in the Tektronix .rf5 file parser that allows remote attackers to trigger a denial of service via a malformed .rf5 file causing a crash.

MitigationUpgrade Wireshark to a version beyond 1.0.6, or implement file-type validation and sandboxing for .rf5 files before processing.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
WiresharkApplication
Affected:= 0.9.6= 0.9.7= 0.9.8= 0.99= 0.99.0= 0.99.1= 0.99.2= 0.99.3= 0.99.4= 0.99.5= 0.99.6= 0.99.6a

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Determine installed Wireshark version
    Run 'wireshark -v' or 'tshark -v' from command line, or check Help > About in GUI
    Affected if version is between 0.99.6 and 1.0.6 inclusive, or matches any 0.9.6 through 0.99.6a variant listed in affected versions
  2. Identify if Tektronix .rf5 parser is loaded
    Check Wireshark dissector plugins directory for 'rf5' related files, or open a .rf5 file in Wireshark to confirm parser loads without error
    Affected if Wireshark can open and parse .rf5 files using the Tektronix parser module
  3. Confirm .rf5 file type handling is possible in environment
    Search for any .rf5 sample files on the system or in network captures, or check if Wireshark is configured to auto-detect .rf5 files
    Affected if The .rf5 file format is being processed by Wireshark on the analyzed system

System is affected if Wireshark version 0.99.6 through 1.0.6 (or 0.9.6 through 0.99.6a per the version list) is installed AND the Tektronix .rf5 file parser can be invoked to process .rf5 files.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade Wireshark to a version beyond 1.0.6, or implement file-type validation and sandboxing for .rf5 files before processing.

Fix this in Wireshark Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
4.0 hours of engineering $750
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2009-1269 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data