WiresharkApplication
CVE-2014-6426
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 · uneditedThe dissect_hip_tlv function in epan/dissectors/packet-hip.c in the HIP dissector in Wireshark 1.12.x before 1.12.1 does not properly handle a NULL tree, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (infinite loop) via a crafted 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 confidenceThe HIP (Host Identity Protocol) dissector in Wireshark 1.12.x before 1.12.1 contains a vulnerability in the dissect_hip_tlv function where it fails to properly handle a NULL tree condition. When processing a specially crafted HIP packet, this causes an infinite loop, resulting in denial of service.
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
= 1.12.0CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed Wireshark versionRun 'wireshark --version' or check Help > About Wireshark in the applicationAffected if Version is 1.12.0 or any 1.12.x version before 1.12.1 (the summary indicates 1.12.x before 1.12.1 is affected)
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Check if HIP dissector is loadedIn Wireshark GUI, go to Analyze > Enabled Protocols and search for 'HIP' in the protocol list, or inspect the dissector modules via 'wireshark -G' with appropriate flagsAffected if HIP protocol dissector appears in the enabled protocols list or is loaded as a dissector module
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Confirm HIP protocol support existsLook for HIP (Host Identity Protocol) in the protocol preferences or check if the dissector file 'packet-hip.c' or similar HIP-related dissector files are present in the Wireshark installation directoryAffected if HIP protocol support is compiled into or available in the Wireshark installation
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Determine if HIP traffic is being processedReview any open capture files or live captures for packets using HIP protocol (IP protocol number 139), or check if Wireshark is configured to automatically dissect HIP trafficAffected if HIP packets are present in analyzed traffic or Wireshark is set to auto-detect HIP protocol
A user is affected if they are running Wireshark 1.12.0 (or 1.12.x before 1.12.1) AND the HIP dissector is enabled and capable of processing HIP traffic, allowing a specially crafted packet to trigger the NULL tree condition in dissect_hip_tlv causing an infinite loop.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataUpgrade Wireshark to version 1.12.1 or later. If upgrading is not immediately feasible, disable the HIP dissector in Wireshark settings to prevent exploitation.
Fix this in Wireshark
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,424.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2014-6426 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2014-6426 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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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