WiresharkApplication
CVE-2017-6014
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 2.2.4 and earlier, a crafted or malformed STANAG 4607 capture file will cause an infinite loop and memory exhaustion. If the packet size field in a packet header is null, the offset to read from will not advance, causing continuous attempts to read the same zero length packet. This will quickly exhaust all system memory.
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 confidenceIn Wireshark 2.2.4 and earlier, the STANAG 4607 capture file parser enters an infinite loop when processing a malformed file with a null packet size field. Since the parsing offset does not advance when packet size is zero, the parser repeatedly attempts to read the same zero-length packet, causing unbounded memory consumption until system resources are exhausted.
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
<= 2.2.4
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
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/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' from command line, or check the application via Help > About Wireshark in the GUIAffected if Version is 2.2.4 or earlier
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Verify STANAG 4607 parser module is presentCheck for 'stanag4607' or 'STANAG 4607' in the list of enabled dissectors. In TShark, run 'tshark -G dissectors' and search for this protocol. In Wireshark GUI, check Analyze > Enabled ProtocolsAffected if The STANAG 4607 dissector is enabled in the Wireshark installation
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Confirm if STANAG 4607 capture files are processedReview any traffic capture workflows, scripts, or automated tools that process STANAG 4607 formatted files. Check if any capture analysis pipelines accept this file typeAffected if The environment processes or analyzes STANAG 4607 capture files
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Check for unusual memory consumptionMonitor Wireshark or TShark process memory usage when opening capture files. Use system tools like 'top', 'htop', or Process Explorer to observe memory growth during analysisAffected if Memory grows unboundedly without stabilization while parsing STANAG 4607 files
You are affected if Wireshark version 2.2.4 or earlier is installed AND the STANAG 4607 parser is enabled AND your environment processes STANAG 4607 capture files, leading to infinite loop behavior when a malformed file with zero packet size is opened.
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 dataUpdate Wireshark to a version newer than 2.2.4, or avoid opening untrusted STANAG 4607 capture files until the update is applied.
Fix this in Wireshark
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,224.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-6014 — 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-2017-6014 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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