dbcve.org
WiresharkApplication

CVE-2014-6432

MEDIUM · 5.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2014-09-20
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
The SnifferDecompress function in wiretap/ngsniffer.c in the DOS Sniffer file parser in Wireshark 1.10.x before 1.10.10 and 1.12.x before 1.12.1 does not prevent data overwrites during copy operations, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) via a crafted 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 · high confidence

The SnifferDecompress function in Wireshark's DOS Sniffer file parser (wiretap/ngsniffer.c) lacks proper bounds checking during copy operations, allowing a crafted DOS Sniffer file to overwrite adjacent memory regions and cause an application crash (denial of service).

MitigationUpdate Wireshark to version 1.10.10 or later (1.10.x branch) or 1.12.1 or later (1.12.x branch). Until updated, avoid opening untrusted or unknown DOS Sniffer capture files.

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:= 1.10.0= 1.10.1= 1.10.2= 1.10.3= 1.10.4= 1.10.5= 1.10.6= 1.10.7= 1.10.8= 1.10.9= 1.12.0

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. Check installed Wireshark version
    Run 'wireshark --version' or 'tshark --version' from command line to determine the exact version of Wireshark installed
    Affected if Version is 1.10.0 through 1.10.9, or 1.12.0 exactly (versions 1.10.10+ and 1.12.1+ are fixed)
  2. Verify DOS Sniffer parser is available
    Open Wireshark GUI, go to Help > About Wireshark > Plugins tab, or check if 'ngsniffer' dissector is present in the wireshark installation
    Affected if The ngsniffer plugin or dissector module is present and loadable

You are affected if Wireshark version is 1.10.0-1.10.9 or 1.12.0 AND the DOS Sniffer file parser (ngsniffer) is available to process 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

Update Wireshark to version 1.10.10 or later (1.10.x branch) or 1.12.1 or later (1.12.x branch). Until updated, avoid opening untrusted or unknown DOS Sniffer capture files.

Fix this in Wireshark Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $910
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,456.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2014-6432 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2014-6432 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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