CVE-2024-8006: libpcap Null Dereference — Fix

Description

Remote packet capture support is disabled by default in libpcap. When a user builds libpcap with remote packet capture support enabled, one of the functions that become available is pcap_findalldevs_ex(). One of the function arguments can be a filesystem path, which normally means a directory with input data files. When the specified path cannot be used as a directory, the function receives NULL from opendir(), but does not check the return value and passes the NULL value to readdir(), which causes a NULL pointer derefence.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

4.4

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-476 CWE-476

Affected Products

Vendor	Product	Versions
tcpdump	libpcap	< 1.10.5

References

Advisories & Patches

https://github.com/the-tcpdump-group/libpcap/commit/0f8a103469ce87d2b8d68c5130a46ddb7fb5eb29 https://github.com/the-tcpdump-group/libpcap/commit/8a633ee5b9ecd9d38a587ac9b204e2380713b0d6

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2024-8006? +

Remote packet capture support is disabled by default in libpcap. When a user builds libpcap with remote packet capture support enabled, one of the functions that become available is pcap_findalldevs_ex(). One of the function arguments can be a filesystem path, which normally means a directory with input data files. When the specified path cannot be used as a directory, the function receives NULL from opendir(), but does not check the return value and passes the NULL value to readdir(), which causes a NULL pointer derefence. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 4.4 (MEDIUM).

How severe is CVE-2024-8006? +

CVE-2024-8006 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 4.4 out of 10, rated MEDIUM. This is a medium-severity vulnerability that should be remediated as part of regular maintenance.

What products are affected by CVE-2024-8006? +

CVE-2024-8006 affects products from tcpdump, specifically: libpcap. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2024-8006? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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