WiresharkApplication
CVE-2016-4006
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 · uneditedepan/proto.c in Wireshark 1.12.x before 1.12.11 and 2.0.x before 2.0.3 does not limit the protocol-tree depth, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (stack memory consumption and application crash) 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 confidenceWireshark versions 1.12.x before 1.12.11 and 2.0.x before 2.0.3 contain a vulnerability in the epan/proto.c component where the protocol-tree depth is not properly limited. A remote attacker can send a specially crafted packet to cause excessive stack memory consumption, leading to a denial of service and application crash.
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
= 1.12.0= 1.12.1= 1.12.2= 1.12.3= 1.12.4= 1.12.5= 1.12.6= 1.12.7= 1.12.8= 1.12.9= 1.12.10= 2.0.0CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
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.
-
Determine installed Wireshark versionRun 'wireshark --version' or 'tshark --version' to see the exact version numberAffected if The version is 1.12.0 through 1.12.10 or 2.0.0 through 2.0.2 (any version before 1.12.11 in the 1.12.x line or before 2.0.3 in the 2.0.x line)
-
Confirm Wireshark or TShark is installedCheck for the presence of the wireshark or tshark binary using 'which wireshark tshark' or by listing installed packagesAffected if Wireshark or TShark is installed and running an affected version from step 1
-
Identify if packet capture processing is activeCheck for running wireshark or tshark processes using 'ps aux | grep -E "wireshark|tshark"' or check for active capture sessionsAffected if Wireshark or TShark is actively running and processing capture files or network interfaces (this creates the attack surface for the vulnerability)
-
Review recent capture files for untrusted sourcesExamine recently opened .pcap or .pcapng files in the system, checking file modification dates and sourcesAffected if There are recently opened capture files from untrusted or unknown sources, indicating potential exposure to the crafted packet vulnerability
You are affected if Wireshark version 1.12.0-1.12.10 or 2.0.0-2.0.2 is installed and the application is used to process packet captures or live network traffic from untrusted sources.
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 dataUpdate Wireshark to version 1.12.11 or later (1.12.x) or version 2.0.3 or later (2.0.x). Avoid opening untrusted packet capture files from untrusted sources until the update is applied.
Fix this in Wireshark
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 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 $1,200.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-4006 — 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-2016-4006 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
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.
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.
- 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