How severe is CVE-2018-16301?

CVE-2018-16301 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.8, rated high severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2018-16301 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (46th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2018-16301?

CVE-2018-16301 affects Tcpdump. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.

How do I fix CVE-2018-16301?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

When was CVE-2018-16301 published?

CVE-2018-16301 was published on 2019-10-03 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2018-16301

CVE-2018-16301 is a high-severity vulnerability in Tcpdump with a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.8. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-120.

Key facts

Severity: High (CVSS 3.x base score 7.8)
CVSS v2: 4.4
EPSS exploit prediction: 1% (46th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-120
Affected product: Tcpdump
Published: 2019-10-03
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

The command-line argument parser in tcpdump before 4.99.0 has a buffer overflow in tcpdump.c:read_infile(). To trigger this vulnerability the attacker needs to create a 4GB file on the local filesystem and to specify the file name as the value of the -F command-line argument of tcpdump.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2018-16301?: The command-line argument parser in tcpdump before 4.99.0 has a buffer overflow in tcpdump.c:read_infile(). To trigger this vulnerability the attacker needs to create a 4GB file on the local filesystem and to specify the file name as the value of the -F command-line argument of tcpdump.
How severe is CVE-2018-16301?: CVE-2018-16301 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.8, rated high severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2018-16301 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (46th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2018-16301?: CVE-2018-16301 affects Tcpdump. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2018-16301?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2018-16301 published?: CVE-2018-16301 was published on 2019-10-03 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

https://github.com/the-tcpdump-group/tcpdump/commit/ad7c25bc0decf96dc7768c9e903734d38528b1bd

Affected products (1)

cpe:2.3:a:tcpdump:tcpdump:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

More vulnerabilities in Tcpdump

CVE-2018-10105 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): tcpdump before 4.9.3 mishandles the printing of SMB data (issue 2 of 2).
CVE-2018-10103 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): tcpdump before 4.9.3 mishandles the printing of SMB data (issue 1 of 2).
CVE-2017-13725 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): The IPv6 routing header parser in tcpdump before 4.9.2 has a buffer over-read in print-rt6.c:rt6_print().
CVE-2017-13690 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): The IKEv2 parser in tcpdump before 4.9.2 has a buffer over-read in print-isakmp.c, several functions.
CVE-2017-13689 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): The IKEv1 parser in tcpdump before 4.9.2 has a buffer over-read in print-isakmp.c:ikev1_id_print().
CVE-2017-13688 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): The OLSR parser in tcpdump before 4.9.2 has a buffer over-read in print-olsr.c:olsr_print().

All CVEs affecting Tcpdump →

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