CVE-2015-3812
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Description
A flaw was found in X11 dissector of wireshark of which an attacker could make wireshark consume excessive CPU resources which could make system unresponsive by injecting specially crafted packet onto the wire or by convincing wireshark user to read malformed packet trace file.
Mitigation
This flaw can be mitigated in wireshark by disabling the X11 protocol dissector. In wireshark GUI application click on Analyze->Enabled Protocols and search for "X11" and disable in. When using "tshark", the text interface, create a file called "disabled_protos" in the preferences folder (normally .wireshark folder in the home directory of the user running wireshark) and add "X11" to it. This should disable the X11 protocol.
Additional information
- Bugzilla 1222437: wireshark: X11 memory leak (wnpa-sec-2015-15)
- CWE-401: Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime
- FAQ: Frequently asked questions about CVE-2015-3812
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
Red Hat | NVD | |
---|---|---|
CVSS v2 Base Score | 4.3 | 7.8 |
Attack Vector | Network | Network |
Access Complexity | Medium | Low |
Authentication | None | None |
Confidentiality Impact | None | None |
Integrity Impact | None | None |
Availability Impact | Partial | Complete |
CVSS v2 Vector
Red Hat: AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P
NVD: AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Red Hat's CVSS v3 score or Impact different from other vendors?
For more information, see https://access.redhat.com/solutions/762393.
My product is listed as "Under investigation" or "Affected", when will Red Hat release a fix for this vulnerability?
- "Under investigation" doesn't necessarily mean that the product is affected by this vulnerability. It only means that our Analysis Team is still working on determining whether the product is affected and how it is affected.
- "Affected" means that our Analysis Team has determined that this product is affected by this vulnerability and might release a fix to address this in the near future.
What can I do if my product is listed as "Will not fix"?
Available options depend mostly on the Impact of the vulnerability and the current Life Cycle phase of your product. Overall, you have the following options:
- Upgrade to a supported product version that includes a fix for this vulnerability (recommended).
- Apply a mitigation (if one exists).
- Open a support case to request a prioritization of releasing a fix for this vulnerability.
What can I do if my product is listed as "Fix deferred"?
Available options depend mostly on the Impact of the vulnerability and the current Life Cycle phase of your product. Overall, you have the following options:
- Apply a mitigation (if one exists).
- Open a support case to request a prioritization of releasing a fix for this vulnerability.
- Red Hat Engineering focuses on addressing high-priority issues based on their complexity or limited lifecycle support. Therefore, lower-priority issues will not receive immediate fixes.
What is a mitigation?
I have a Red Hat product but it is not in the above list, is it affected?
Why is my security scanner reporting my product as vulnerable to this vulnerability even though my product version is fixed or not affected?
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