CVE-2018-10103
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 · uneditedtcpdump before 4.9.3 mishandles the printing of SMB data (issue 1 of 2).
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 · moderate confidencetcpdump before version 4.9.3 contains a vulnerability in its SMB (Server Message Block) protocol packet printing functionality where improper handling of SMB data can lead to exploitation. The CRITICAL CVSS score of 9.8 indicates this flaw is likely remotely exploitable and could result in 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< 4.9.3CVSS 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:3.1/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 installed tcpdump versionRun `tcpdump --version` or `tcpdump -h` to display version informationAffected if The displayed version is earlier than 4.9.3 (for example, 4.9.2, 4.9.1, 4.9.0, or any 4.x.y version below 4.9.3)
-
Confirm tcpdump binary locationRun `which tcpdump` or `rpm -q tcpdump` (RHEL/Debian) to locate the tcpdump binary packageAffected if A tcpdump package is installed and the version check from step 1 shows a vulnerable version
-
Determine if SMB printing is actively usedReview any scripts, cron jobs, or monitoring configurations that invoke tcpdump with SMB-related flags such as `-v`, `-vv`, or `-s0` while processing network captures that may contain SMB trafficAffected if tcpdump is configured to parse or print SMB/SMB2 packet contents and the installed version is vulnerable
-
Check for SMB traffic in captured filesIf you have existing pcap files, use `tcpdump -r <file> -c 10 port 445 or port 139` to see if SMB traffic is present in any capturesAffected if SMB traffic exists in captures that could be parsed by a vulnerable tcpdump version
You are affected if tcpdump version 4.9.2 or earlier is installed AND the tool is used to process or print SMB protocol traffic from live captures or pcap files
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 · scoped4.9.3
Upgrade tcpdump to version 4.9.3 or later to remediate this SMB printing vulnerability.
tcpdump 4.9.3 or later
- Check current tcpdump version using: tcpdump --version or rpm -q tcpdump / dpkg -l tcpdump
- Update package repository metadata: sudo apt-get update (Debian/Ubuntu) or sudo yum/dnf check-update (RHEL/CentOS/Fedora)
- Upgrade tcpdump: sudo apt-get install tcpdump (Debian/Ubuntu) or sudo yum/dnf update tcpdump (RHEL/CentOS/Fedora)
- Verify the installed version is 4.9.3 or later: tcpdump --version
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 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 $1,376.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-10103 — 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-2018-10103 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