Is CVE-2016-7973 exploited in the wild?

No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2016-7973 being exploited in the wild.

How severe is CVE-2016-7973?

Critical severity, with a CVSS score of 9.8, published 28 January 2017.

Is there a fix for CVE-2016-7973?

A patch was published on 2017-01-29: Debian released security update DSA-3775-1 Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

How is CVE-2016-7973 attacked?

It is attacked over the network, in a software library.

Am I affected by CVE-2016-7973?

Check whether you run Tcpdump. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

CVE-2016-7973: tcpdump buffer overflow in AppleTalk parser

CVE-2016-7973 · Severity: critical · CVSS 9.8 · Published 2017-01-28

A vulnerability exists in tcpdump, a widely used tool for monitoring and analyzing network traffic. By sending specially crafted network packets or providing a malicious capture file, an attacker could cause the application to crash or potentially execute unauthorized code. This could lead to a disruption of network monitoring services or a compromise of the system running the tool.

Technologies: Tcpdump. Vendors: Tcpdump.

Quick answers

Is CVE-2016-7973 exploited in the wild?: No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2016-7973 being exploited in the wild.
How severe is CVE-2016-7973?: Critical severity, with a CVSS score of 9.8, published 28 January 2017.
Which products and versions are affected?: tcpdump tcpdump < 4.9.0.
Is there a fix for CVE-2016-7973?: A patch was published on 2017-01-29: Debian released security update DSA-3775-1 Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.
How is CVE-2016-7973 attacked?: It is attacked over the network, in a software library.
Am I affected by CVE-2016-7973?: Check whether you run Tcpdump. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

Technical details

A buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the AppleTalk parser component of tcpdump (specifically within multiple functions in print-atalk.c). The flaw is triggered when tcpdump attempts to parse specially crafted AppleTalk network traffic or pcap files. An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit this by sending malicious packets to a network segment where tcpdump is performing live capture or by tricking a user into opening a crafted capture file. Successful exploitation can result in a denial of service (application crash) or the execution of arbitrary code with the privileges of the tcpdump process. The issue is resolved in version 4.9.0.

Affected products

tcpdump tcpdump < 4.9.0

Timeline

2017-01-26: disclosed: Upstream release 4.9.0 announced fixing multiple vulnerabilities
2017-01-27: advisory: NVD published CVE-2016-7973
2017-01-29: patched: Debian released security update DSA-3775-1

References

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