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WiresharkApplication

CVE-2016-6508

MEDIUM · 5.9 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-08-06
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
68/100
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
epan/dissectors/packet-rlc.c in the RLC dissector in Wireshark 1.12.x before 1.12.13 and 2.x before 2.0.5 uses an incorrect integer data type, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (large 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 confidence

The RLC (Radio Link Control) dissector in Wireshark versions 1.12.x before 1.12.13 and 2.x before 2.0.5 uses an incorrect integer data type when processing packets, causing a large loop condition that leads to denial of service when parsing a crafted packet.

MitigationUpgrade Wireshark to version 1.12.13 or later (1.x) or 2.0.5 or later (2.x) to resolve the integer type mismatch in the RLC dissector.

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:= 1.12.0= 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= 1.12.11

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
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 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, or look at Help > About in the Wireshark GUI
    Affected if Version is 1.12.0 through 1.12.12, or any 2.x version before 2.0.5
  2. Identify if RLC dissector is available
    Open Wireshark and go to Analyze > Enabled Protocols, or search for 'rlc' in the filter box to see if RLC protocol dissectors are present
    Affected if RLC dissector modules are loaded in the Wireshark installation
  3. Verify packet capture analysis scenario
    Confirm that Wireshark is being used to analyze packet captures (including pcap, pcapng, or other capture formats) that may contain 3G/4G LTE traffic
    Affected if User analyzes packet captures containing RLC protocol traffic from radio networks

You are affected if you run a vulnerable Wireshark version (1.12.0-1.12.12 or 2.x before 2.0.5) and use it to parse packet captures that may contain crafted RLC protocol packets.

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 1.12.13 or later (1.x) or 2.0.5 or later (2.x) to resolve the integer type mismatch in the RLC dissector.

Fix this in Wireshark 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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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-2016-6508 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data