CVE-2017-5482
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 Q.933 parser in tcpdump before 4.9.0 has a buffer overflow in print-fr.c:q933_print(), a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-8575.
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 confidenceA buffer overflow vulnerability exists in tcpdump versions before 4.9.0 within the Q.933 protocol parser function q933_print() in print-fr.c. The Q.933 protocol is used for Frame Relay signaling. This heap or stack-based buffer overflow can be triggered by processing malicious network packets, potentially allowing remote code execution with the privileges of the tcpdump process.
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<= 4.8.1CVSS 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
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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.
-
Identify tcpdump installationRun 'tcpdump --version' or check your package manager (rpm -q tcpdump for RHEL/CentOS, dpkg -l tcpdump for Debian/Ubuntu)Affected if tcpdump is not installed or the command fails (not applicable)
-
Determine installed versionParse the output from 'tcpdump --version' to find the version number, typically displayed as 'tcpdump version X.Y.Z'Affected if You cannot determine the version (tcpdump may not be installed)
-
Compare version to affected rangeCompare the installed version number to 4.9.0; versions 4.8.1 and earlier are affectedAffected if Installed version is 4.8.1 or earlier, or any version below 4.9.0
-
Verify if packet capture is in useCheck for running tcpdump processes with 'ps aux | grep tcpdump' or recent capture files (*.pcap)Affected if tcpdump is actively capturing packets or processing pcap files from untrusted networks
You are affected if tcpdump version 4.8.1 or earlier is installed AND the tool is or could be used to process network traffic containing Q.933/Frame Relay 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.
dbcve · scopedUpgrade tcpdump to version 4.9.0 or later to remediate this vulnerability. If immediate patching is not feasible, restrict network exposure of systems running tcpdump and avoid capturing packets on untrusted networks.
tcpdump 4.9.0 or later
- Check the current installed version of tcpdump using: tcpdump --version or rpm -q tcpdump / dpkg -l tcpdump
- Upgrade tcpdump to version 4.9.0 or later. On Debian/Ubuntu: apt-get update && apt-get install tcpdump. On Red Hat/CentOS: yum update tcpdump. On Gentoo: emerge --update tcpdump. From source: download tcpdump-4.9.0 or later from www.tcpdump.org and compile/install
- Verify the installed version is 4.9.0 or later using: tcpdump --version
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 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 $1,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-5482 — 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-2017-5482 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