WiresharkApplication
CVE-2016-9375
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 · uneditedIn Wireshark 2.2.0 to 2.2.1 and 2.0.0 to 2.0.7, the DTN dissector could go into an infinite loop, triggered by network traffic or a capture file. This was addressed in epan/dissectors/packet-dtn.c by checking whether SDNV evaluation was successful.
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 DTN (Delay-Tolerant Networking) dissector in Wireshark contained an infinite loop vulnerability triggered by malformed network traffic or capture files. The issue stemmed from unchecked SDNV (Self-Delimiting Numeric Values) evaluation in packet-dtn.c, where unsuccessful evaluations were not properly handled, causing the dissector to loop indefinitely and hang.
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
= 2.0.0= 2.0.1= 2.0.2= 2.0.3= 2.0.4= 2.0.5= 2.0.6= 2.0.7= 2.2.0= 2.2.1
Debian LinuxOperating system
= 8.0CVSS 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.
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Check installed Wireshark versionRun 'wireshark --version' or 'tshark --version' to identify the exact version installedAffected if Version is 2.0.0 through 2.0.7, or 2.2.0 through 2.2.1 (including point releases like 2.0.1, 2.0.2, etc.)
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Verify DTN dissector is availableOpen Wireshark and go to Analyze > Enabled Protocols, or check for 'dtn' in the protocol list. On CLI, check if packet-dtn.c dissector is loadedAffected if DTN protocol dissector is present and enabled in Wireshark
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Check for DTN protocol preference settingsIn Wireshark, go to Edit > Preferences > Protocols > DTN and verify the dissector is enabledAffected if DTN dissector is enabled in the Wireshark protocol settings
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Identify if DTN traffic may be processedReview any capture files or live traffic sources that may contain Delay-Tolerant Networking protocol data (BPv7/ Bundle Protocol)Affected if User opens or processes capture files or network traffic containing malformed DTN/Bundle Protocol packets
You are affected if Wireshark version is 2.0.0-2.0.7 or 2.2.0-2.2.1 AND the DTN dissector is enabled AND you open a malformed DTN capture file or receive malformed DTN traffic.
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 to Wireshark 2.2.2, 2.0.8, or later versions which contain the fix. Until upgraded, avoid opening untrusted capture files with the DTN dissector.
Fix this in Wireshark
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing3.0 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 $1,936.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-9375 — 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-2016-9375 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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