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Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian

CVE-2013-2485

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v2.0 Published 2013-03-07
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
66/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
The FCSP dissector in Wireshark 1.6.x before 1.6.14 and 1.8.x before 1.8.6 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (infinite loop) via a malformed packet.

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 · high confidence

Wireshark versions 1.6.x before 1.6.14 and 1.8.x before 1.8.6 contain a vulnerability in the FCSP (Fibre Channel Security Protocol) dissector. When processing a malformed packet, the dissector enters an infinite loop, causing the application to hang and resulting in a denial of service. The vulnerability is triggered remotely by an attacker sending a specially crafted malformed FCSP packet.

MitigationUpgrade Wireshark to version 1.6.14, 1.8.6, or later. Alternatively, avoid processing untrusted packet capture files or live network traffic from unknown sources until the update is applied.

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
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 7.0
WiresharkApplication
Affected:= 1.6.0= 1.6.1= 1.6.2= 1.6.3= 1.6.4= 1.6.5= 1.6.6= 1.6.7= 1.6.8= 1.6.9= 1.6.10= 1.6.11
OpensuseOperating system
Affected:= 11.4= 12.1= 12.2= 12.3

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
Adjacent
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Complete

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

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. Confirm Wireshark is installed
    Run 'wireshark --version' or check installed packages (dpkg -l wireshark on Debian/Ubuntu, rpm -qa wireshark on RHEL/SUSE)
    Affected if Wireshark is present on the system
  2. Identify the installed Wireshark version
    Execute 'wireshark --version' and note the version number in the output (e.g., 1.6.11, 1.8.5)
    Affected if Version displays as 1.6.0 through 1.6.13, or 1.8.0 through 1.8.5, indicating a vulnerable release
  3. Verify FCSP dissector is available
    Launch Wireshark, go to Help > About > Plugins or run 'tshark -G protocols' and search for 'FCSP' or 'fcswils'
    Affected if FCSP protocol dissector is present in the installation (the vulnerability exists in this component)
  4. Check for packet capture processing activity
    Review recent packet capture sessions or examine if Wireshark is used to analyze traffic from untrusted network sources
    Affected if The system processes live network traffic or pcap files from unknown sources, enabling remote trigger of the malformed packet

A user is affected if Wireshark version 1.6.x before 1.6.14 or 1.8.x before 1.8.6 is installed and the FCSP dissector is available for processing network traffic or capture 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 version 1.6.14, 1.8.6, or later. Alternatively, avoid processing untrusted packet capture files or live network traffic from unknown sources until the update is applied.

Fix this in Debian Linux Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2013-2485 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
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