dbcve.org
WiresharkApplication

CVE-2018-5334

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-01-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2.4.3 or later.
See remediation →
72/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges

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 · unedited
In Wireshark 2.4.0 to 2.4.3 and 2.2.0 to 2.2.11, the IxVeriWave file parser could crash. This was addressed in wiretap/vwr.c by correcting the signature timestamp bounds checks.

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 confidence

The IxVeriWave file parser in Wireshark contains improper bounds checking on signature timestamps, allowing malformed capture files to trigger a crash. This is a bounds validation issue in wiretap/vwr.c that leads to denial of service when processing specially crafted IxVeriWave files.

MitigationUpgrade to Wireshark 2.4.4, 2.2.12, or later versions. Until patched, avoid opening untrusted or unknown IxVeriWave (.vwr) capture files.

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
Affected:>= 2.2.0, <= 2.2.11>= 2.4.0, <= 2.4.3
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 7.0= 8.0= 9.0

CVSS 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
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Determine installed Wireshark version
    Run 'wireshark --version' or 'tshark --version' on the command line, or check the application properties on Windows
    Affected if The version falls within 2.2.0-2.2.11 or 2.4.0-2.4.3
  2. Confirm IxVeriWave parser is present
    Check for the presence of wiretap/vwr.c or the vwr dissector in the Wireshark installation directory; on Linux check /usr/lib/wireshark/libwiretap.so or equivalent
    Affected if The IxVeriWave (vwr) parser module exists in the installation
  3. Verify file capture support includes .vwr files
    Check Wireshark capture file type support via 'file -s' on a .vwr file or inspect the supported file types in Wireshark's 'About > Plugins' or 'Help > About > Plugins' dialog
    Affected if IxVeriWave (.vwr) file format is listed as an enabled capture file type

The environment is affected if Wireshark version is between 2.2.0-2.2.11 or 2.4.0-2.4.3 AND the IxVeriWave file parser is available to process .vwr capture files.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 2.4.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to Wireshark 2.4.4, 2.2.12, or later versions. Until patched, avoid opening untrusted or unknown IxVeriWave (.vwr) capture files.

Fix this in Wireshark Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,640
Get the upgrade done

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 locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-5334 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-5334 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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.

What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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