WiresharkApplication
CVE-2015-3814
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 (1) dissect_tfs_request and (2) dissect_tfs_response functions in epan/dissectors/packet-ieee80211.c in the IEEE 802.11 dissector in Wireshark 1.10.x before 1.10.14 and 1.12.x before 1.12.5 interpret a zero value as a length rather than an error condition, 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 IEEE 802.11 dissector in Wireshark (packet-ieee80211.c) contains a flaw in the dissect_tfs_request and dissect_tfs_response functions where a zero value is incorrectly interpreted as a valid length field rather than an error condition, causing an infinite loop when processing crafted packets.
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
= 1.10.0= 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= 1.10.10= 1.10.11= 11.2CVSS 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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Check if Wireshark is installedRun 'wireshark --version' or 'tshark --version' from command lineAffected if Wireshark is installed and the version is 1.10.0 through 1.10.11
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Confirm the exact Wireshark version numberCompare the installed version against the affected range: 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, 1.10.10, 1.10.11Affected if The installed version matches any of these specific versions
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Check if processing IEEE 802.11 wireless capturesDetermine if you are analyzing packet capture (pcap) files containing 802.11 wireless traffic, or live-capturing on a WiFi interfaceAffected if You are opening or analyzing pcap files that contain IEEE 802.11 wireless frames, or capturing on a wireless interface
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Identify if dissect_tfs functions are exercisedWhen Wireshark parses a TFS (Traffic Filter Specification) element within an 802.11 management frame, it calls the vulnerable dissect_tfs_request or dissect_tfs_response functionsAffected if You are opening a crafted packet capture that contains malicious TFS request or response elements designed to trigger the infinite loop
You are affected if Wireshark version 1.10.0 through 1.10.11 is installed AND you are processing untrusted IEEE 802.11 wireless packet captures containing TFS elements.
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 1.10.14, 1.12.5, or later to patch the vulnerable dissector code; avoid processing untrusted packet captures until the update is applied.
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-2015-3814 — 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-2015-3814 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
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