Description
Unspecified vulnerability in packet.c in the GSM A RR dissector in Wireshark 1.2.0 and 1.2.1 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) via unknown vectors related to "an uninitialized dissector handle," which triggers an assertion failure.
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 | wireshark | 1.2.2-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | wireshark | 1.2.2-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | wireshark | 1.2.2-1 | — |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | wireshark | 2.2.2-1.1 | openSUSE-SU-2024:10199-1 |
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.
Third-party code, not reviewed by us. Public PoCs are sometimes fake or contain malware. Read the code first and run it only in an isolated lab, against systems you are authorised to test.
Exploit-DB 1
- Wireshark 1.2.1 - GSM A RR Dissector packet.c Remote Denial of Service EDB-33224 · dos · Sep 15, 2009 · verified
Sources: PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB — updated daily. Only links are listed; no exploit code is hosted here.
Advisories 1
- openSUSE-SU-2024:10199-1 wireshark-2.2.2-1.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
References
- 36408 vdb-entry
- https://bugs.wireshark.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=3893
- http://www.wireshark.org/security/wnpa-sec-2009-06.html
- 36754 third-party-advisory
- 37409 third-party-advisory
- http://www.wireshark.org/docs/relnotes/wireshark-1.2.2.html
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:5423 vdb-entry signature