CVE-2017-5484
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 ATM parser in tcpdump before 4.9.0 has a buffer overflow in print-atm.c:sig_print().
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 in the ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) parser function sig_print() in print-atm.c. This flaw can be triggered by processing specially crafted ATM packets, potentially allowing remote code execution or denial of service.
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.
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Verify tcpdump is installedRun 'which tcpdump' or 'tcpdump --version' to confirm tcpdump is present on the systemAffected if tcpdump is not installed - not affected
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Determine installed tcpdump versionRun 'tcpdump --version' and note the version number in the outputAffected if version is 4.8.1 or lower - vulnerable; version 4.9.0 or higher - not affected
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Check if ATM traffic is being capturedReview tcpdump capture commands or scripts for use of ATM interfaces (e.g., atm0, eni0) or ATM-related packet filteringAffected if tcpdump is actively capturing or analyzing ATM network traffic - potentially vulnerable if version is <= 4.8.1
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Identify tcpdump execution contextReview system logs, cron jobs, or network monitoring scripts that invoke tcpdump to see if ATM packet processing occursAffected if tcpdump processes ATM packets from network interfaces - vulnerable if version is <= 4.8.1
System is affected only if tcpdump version is 4.8.1 or lower AND the tool is used to process ATM network 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.
dbcve · scopedUpgrade tcpdump to version 4.9.0 or later to remediate the buffer overflow in the ATM parser. If immediate patching is not possible, consider restricting network access to untrusted ATM traffic sources.
tcpdump 4.9.0
- Check current tcpdump version: tcpdump --version
- Update your package repository metadata: apt-get update (or equivalent for your distro)
- Upgrade tcpdump to version 4.9.0 or later: apt-get install tcpdump (or yum/dnf update tcpdump)
- Verify the installed version: tcpdump --version - should show 4.9.0 or higher
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 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 $1,456.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-5484 — 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-2017-5484 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
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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