WiresharkApplication
CVE-2016-9376
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 OpenFlow dissector could crash with memory exhaustion, triggered by network traffic or a capture file. This was addressed in epan/dissectors/packet-openflow_v5.c by ensuring that certain length values were sufficiently large.
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 OpenFlow dissector in Wireshark 2.0.0-2.0.7 and 2.2.0-2.2.1 has a memory exhaustion vulnerability due to insufficient validation of length values in packet-openflow_v5.c. When processing malformed OpenFlow packets from network traffic or capture files, the dissector can allocate excessive memory leading to a 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
= 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 if Wireshark is installedRun 'wireshark --version' or 'tshark --version' to see if Wireshark command-line tools are presentAffected if Wireshark is installed and the version is 2.0.0-2.0.7 or 2.2.0-2.2.1
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Confirm exact Wireshark versionCompare the output from the version command against the affected ranges: 2.0.0 through 2.0.7, and 2.2.0 through 2.2.1Affected if The installed version falls within 2.0.0-2.0.7 or 2.2.0-2.2.1
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Check if OpenFlow dissector is in useInspect any capture files being analyzed or look for OpenFlow protocol in recent packet captures; the dissector is loaded when opening pcap files containing OpenFlow trafficAffected if You are analyzing capture files or live traffic containing OpenFlow protocol packets
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Determine if processing untrusted capture filesReview recent Wireshark usage or automated tools that open pcap files from untrusted sourcesAffected if You open pcap files from untrusted or unknown sources, or process network traffic where OpenFlow packets may be malformed
You are affected if Wireshark version 2.0.0-2.0.7 or 2.2.0-2.2.1 is installed AND you process capture files or network traffic containing OpenFlow protocol packets.
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 2.2.2/2.0.8 or later where the fix is applied. Avoid opening untrusted capture files and consider disabling the OpenFlow dissector if not required.
Fix this in Wireshark
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 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 $1,664.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-9376 — 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-2016-9376 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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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
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