Description
The RADIUS decoder in tcpdump 3.6.2 and earlier allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via an invalid RADIUS packet with a header length field of 0, which causes tcpdump to generate data within an infinite loop.
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | tcpdump | 3.7.1-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | tcpdump | 3.7.1-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | tcpdump | 3.7.1-1 | — |
| Debian 3.0 | tcpdump | 3.6.2-2.4 | DSA-261 |
Advisories 1
- DSA-261 tcpdump - infinite loop Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
References
- DSA-261 vendor-advisory
- RHSA-2003:033 vendor-advisory
- MDKSA-2003:027 vendor-advisory
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=81585
- RHSA-2003:214 vendor-advisory
- tcpdump-radius-decoder-dos(11324) vdb-entry
- RHSA-2003:032 vendor-advisory