Description
Integer underflow in the isakmp_id_print for TCPDUMP 3.8.1 and earlier allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via an ISAKMP packet with an Identification payload with a length that becomes less than 8 during byte order conversion, which causes an out-of-bounds read, as demonstrated by the Striker ISAKMP Protocol Test Suite.
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 | 3.7.2-4 | — |
| Debian 13 | tcpdump | 3.7.2-4 | — |
| Debian 12 | tcpdump | 3.7.2-4 | — |
| Debian 3.0 | tcpdump | 3.6.2-2.8 | DSA-478 |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 3 | libpcap | 14:0.7.2-7.E3.2 | RHSA-2004:219 |
| RHEL 3 | tcpdump | 14:3.7.2-7.E3.2 | RHSA-2004:219 |
Public exploits
Exploit or proof-of-concept code for this vulnerability is publicly available, which lowers the bar for attackers. Treat it as a reason to patch sooner.
Exploit-DB 1
- tcpdump - ISAKMP Identification Payload Integer Overflow EDB-171 · remote · Apr 5, 2004 · verified
Sources: PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB — updated daily. Only links are listed; no exploit code is hosted here.
Advisories 2
- RHSA-2004:219 Red Hat Security Advisory: tcpdump security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 26, 2026
- DSA-478 tcpdump - denial of service Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
References
- VU#492558 third-party-advisory
- RHSA-2004:219 vendor-advisory
- 1009593 vdb-entry
- DSA-478 vendor-advisory
- 11258 third-party-advisory
- 2004-0015 vendor-advisory
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:9581 vdb-entry signature
- http://www.rapid7.com/advisories/R7-0017.html
- FEDORA-2004-1468 vendor-advisory
- 10004 vdb-entry
- http://www.tcpdump.org/tcpdump-changes.txt
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:976 vdb-entry signature
- 20040330 R7-0017: TCPDUMP ISAKMP payload handling denial-of-service vulnerabilities mailing-list
- tcpdump-isakmp-integer-underflow(15679) vdb-entry