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PacketbeatApplication · Elasticsearch

CVE-2025-68381

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-12-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.19.9 / 9.1.9 or later.
See remediation →
70/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges Zero-click

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
Improper Bounds Check (CWE-787) in Packetbeat can allow a remote unauthenticated attacker to exploit a Buffer Overflow (CAPEC-100) and reliably crash the application or cause significant resource exhaustion via a single crafted UDP packet with an invalid fragment sequence number.

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 confidence

Packetbeat contains a buffer overflow vulnerability (CWE-787) in its UDP packet processing logic due to improper bounds checking when handling invalid fragment sequence numbers. A remote unauthenticated attacker can send a single crafted UDP packet to trigger the overflow, causing denial of service through application crash or significant resource exhaustion.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied patch/update to Packetbeat to address the improper bounds check in fragment sequence number handling. Until patched, consider network-level filtering of suspicious UDP traffic targeting Packetbeat instances.

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
PacketbeatApplication
Affected:>= 7.0.0, <= 7.17.29>= 8.0.0, < 8.19.9>= 9.0.0, < 9.1.9>= 9.2.0, < 9.2.3

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
Adjacent
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/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 checks

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

  1. Verify Packetbeat installation
    Run `packetbeat version` or check for Packetbeat process running via `ps aux | grep packetbeat`
    Affected if Packetbeat is not installed or not running - no action needed, otherwise continue checks
  2. Determine installed Packetbeat version
    Execute `packetbeat version` to get the exact version number, or check the installed package via system package manager (e.g., `dpkg -l packetbeat`, `rpm -qi packetbeat`, or check `/usr/share/packetbeat/VERSION`)
    Affected if Version falls within any of these ranges: 7.0.0 to 7.17.29, 8.0.0 to 8.19.8, 9.0.0 to 9.1.8, or 9.2.0 to 9.2.2 - if so, the version is vulnerable
  3. Confirm UDP input is enabled in configuration
    Inspect Packetbeat configuration file (typically at `/etc/packetbeat/packetbeat.yml`) and search for `protocols:` section, specifically checking if any UDP-based protocol (such as `sip`, `dns`, `ntp`, `memcache`, or custom UDP inputs) is enabled under `packetbeat.protocols:`
    Affected if Any UDP protocol is enabled in the Packetbeat configuration - the vulnerability only triggers when Packetbeat processes UDP traffic with fragment sequence numbers
  4. Verify network exposure to untrusted UDP traffic
    Check network interface bindings in Packetbeat config (`packetbeat.interfaces.device` or `packetbeat.interfaces.file`) and review firewall rules or network ACLs protecting the host. Run `ss -ulnp | grep packetbeat` or `netstat -ulnp | grep packetbeat` to see which UDP ports Packetbeat is listening on
    Affected if Packetbeat is bound to a network interface accessible from untrusted networks (not localhost-only or protected by strict firewall rules) - this confirms potential attack surface

A user is affected if Packetbeat is running a vulnerable version (7.0.0-7.17.29, 8.0.0-8.19.8, 9.0.0-9.1.8, or 9.2.0-9.2.2) with UDP protocol inputs enabled and exposed to untrusted network traffic.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 8.19.9 / 9.1.9 / 9.2.3 or later
Fixed in 8.19.99.1.99.2.3
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied patch/update to Packetbeat to address the improper bounds check in fragment sequence number handling. Until patched, consider network-level filtering of suspicious UDP traffic targeting Packetbeat instances.

Recommended fix High confidence

7.17.30 (for 7.x), 8.19.9 (for 8.x), 9.1.9 (for 9.0.x), 9.2.3 (for 9.2.x) - choose the appropriate fixed version based on your current major version line

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed Packetbeat version using `packetbeat version`
  2. 2. Based on your current major version line, upgrade to the fixed patch release: For 7.x versions: upgrade to 7.17.30 or later; For 8.x versions: upgrade to 8.19.9 or later; For 9.0.x versions: upgrade to 9.1.9 or later; For 9.2.x versions: upgrade to 9.2.3 or later
  3. 3. Download the appropriate Packetbeat package from elastic.co/downloads/packetbeat
  4. 4. Stop the Packetbeat service: `systemctl stop packetbeat` or `service packetbeat stop`
  5. 5. Install the new version using your package manager (apt/yum) or extract the archive
  6. 6. Verify the installation: `packetbeat version`
  7. 7. Start the Packetbeat service: `systemctl start packetbeat` or `service packetbeat start`
  8. 8. Verify normal operation by checking logs and monitoring metrics
Caveat Patch upgrades within the same minor version typically have minimal breaking changes; however, review the Elastic Stack release notes for any deprecation notices or configuration changes

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Packetbeat Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,920
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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-2025-68381 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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