Description
Wireshark 1.2.0 through 1.2.14, 1.4.0 through 1.4.3, and 1.5.0 frees an uninitialized pointer during processing of a .pcap file in the pcap-ng format, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory corruption) or possibly have unspecified other impact via a malformed file.
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 | 1.4.3-3 | — |
| Debian 13 | wireshark | 1.4.3-3 | — |
| Debian 12 | wireshark | 1.4.3-3 | — |
| Debian 6.0 | wireshark | 1.2.11-6+squeeze1 | DSA-2201-1 |
| Debian 5.0 | wireshark | 1.0.2-3+lenny13 | DSA-2201-1 |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 6 | wireshark +2 | 1.2.15-1.el6_0.1 | RHSA-2011:0369 |
| RHEL 5 | wireshark +1 | 1.0.15-1.el5_6.4 | RHSA-2011:0370 |
| RHEL 4 | wireshark +1 | 1.0.15-2.el4 | RHSA-2011:0370 |
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.
Exploit-DB 1
- Wireshark 1.4.3 - '.pcap' Memory Corruption EDB-35314 · remote · Feb 3, 2011 · verified
Sources: PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB — updated daily. Only links are listed; no exploit code is hosted here.
Advisories 4
- RHSA-2011:0370 Red Hat Security Advisory: wireshark security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 26, 2026
- RHSA-2011:0369 Red Hat Security Advisory: wireshark security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 26, 2026
- DSA-2201-1 wireshark - several Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2024:10199-1 wireshark-2.2.2-1.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
References
- 43759 third-party-advisory
- FEDORA-2011-2648 vendor-advisory
- FEDORA-2011-2620 vendor-advisory
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:14605 vdb-entry signature
- http://www.wireshark.org/docs/relnotes/wireshark-1.2.15.html
- ADV-2011-0747 vdb-entry
- ADV-2011-0626 vdb-entry
- 43795 third-party-advisory
- VU#215900 third-party-advisory
- [oss-security] 20110204 Wireshark: Freeing uninitialized pointer mailing-list
- RHSA-2011:0370 vendor-advisory
- ADV-2011-0719 vdb-entry
- http://www.wireshark.org/docs/relnotes/wireshark-1.4.4.html
- FEDORA-2011-2632 vendor-advisory
- https://bugs.wireshark.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=5652
- http://www.wireshark.org/security/wnpa-sec-2011-04.html
- ADV-2011-0622 vdb-entry
- http://www.wireshark.org/security/wnpa-sec-2011-03.html
- RHSA-2011:0369 vendor-advisory
- wireshark-pcap-code-execution(65182) vdb-entry
- MDVSA-2011:044 vendor-advisory
- 1025148 vdb-entry
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=676232
- 46167 vdb-entry
- DSA-2201 vendor-advisory
- 43821 third-party-advisory