Double-free in libpcap before 1.10.5 with remote packet capture support.
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Will not fix Red Hat: no fix planned
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-415 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
In affected libpcap versions during the setup of a remote packet capture the internal function sock_initaddress() calls getaddrinfo() and possibly freeaddrinfo(), but does not clearly indicate to the caller function whether freeaddrinfo() still remains to be called after the function returns. This makes it possible in some scenarios that both the function and its caller call freeaddrinfo() for the same allocated memory block. A similar problem was reported in Apple libpcap, to which Apple assigned CVE-2023-40400.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Tcpdump Group | libpcap | 1.8.x; 1.9.x; 1.10.x – 1.10.4 | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- libpcap VendorThe Tcpdump Group Affected 1.8.x; 1.9.x; 1.10.x – 1.10.4 Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:tcpdump:libpcap:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | before 1.10.5 | Vulnerable | The Tcpdump Group |
- cpe:2.3:a:tcpdump:libpcap:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions before 1.10.5 Vulnerable ·The Tcpdump Group
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
Not affected: 3 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2023-7256
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-7m22-9mw3-j4pp
- 2026-10-21 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-10-22 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
More The Tcpdump Group Libpcap vulnerabilities
- TI-2011-01707 pcap-linux.c in libpcap 1.1.1 before commit ea9432fabdf4b33cbc76d9437200e028f1c47c93 when… CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2019-11323 rpcapd/daemon.c in libpcap before 1.9.1 allows attackers to cause a denial of service… CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2019-11325 sf-pcapng.c in libpcap before 1.9.1 does not properly validate the PHB header length before allocating memory. CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 5.3
- TI-2019-11324 rpcapd/daemon.c in libpcap before 1.9.1 allows SSRF because a URL may be provided as a capture source. CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 5.3
- TI-2019-11321 rpcapd/daemon.c in libpcap before 1.9.1 mishandles certain length values because of reuse… CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 5.3
- TI-2019-11322 rpcapd/daemon.c in libpcap before 1.9.1 on non-Windows platforms provides details about… CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 5.3
Sources
- CVE-2023-7256 · CVE Program
- CVE-2023-7256 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-7m22-9mw3-j4pp · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2023-7256 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences