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Libpcap CVE-2019-15163

HIGH
NULL Pointer Dereference (CWE-476)
2019-10-03 cve@mitre.org
7.5
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
View

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A10:2025 - Mishandling of Exceptional Conditions
ASVS 5.0
V16 - Security Logging and Error Handling Null pointer safety, defensive checks
MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique across 1 tactic: Impact

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Impact

CVSS score of 7.5 (HIGH). Attack characteristics: network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction not required.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A remote attacker could crash the application by dereferencing a null pointer by sending crafted requests to the affected application. No authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
Patch available 4.4% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

rpcapd/daemon.c in libpcap before 1.9.1 allows attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and daemon crash) if a crypt() call fails. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.

RemediationAI

A vendor patch is available. Apply the latest security update as soon as possible. Check pointers before dereferencing. Use static analysis tools to detect null pointer paths.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified as NULL Pointer Dereference (CWE-476), which allows attackers to crash the application by dereferencing a null pointer. rpcapd/daemon.c in libpcap before 1.9.1 allows attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and daemon crash) if a crypt() call fails. Affected products include: Tcpdump Libpcap. Version information: before 1.9.1.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 7.5 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

DescriptionNVD

rpcapd/daemon.c in libpcap before 1.9.1 allows attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and daemon crash) if a crypt() call fails.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
4.4%
Top 10% exploitable
Data Quality
3 sources
Confidence: Low

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 4.4%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable· derived
Yes
Human Impact· derived
Medium

Priority Score

42
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: +4
CVSS: +38
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

A null pointer dereference occurs when a program attempts to access memory through a pointer that has been set to NULL (address 0x0).

Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.

Affected Products (CPE)NVD

cpe:2.3:a:tcpdump:libpcap:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
CVE-2026-0799 HIGH
8.7 Sep 05

Unvalidated BPF scratch-register array index in libpcap's user-space BPF interpreter allows a local attacker with low pr

CVE-2026-6554 HIGH
7.5 Sep 05

Denial of service in libpcap before 1.10.7 allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to hang the offline BPF filter inte

CVE-2026-6244 MEDIUM
5.5 Sep 05

Division by zero in libpcap's BPF interpreter can crash any application using the library when processing a crafted filt

CVE-2026-31911 MEDIUM
5.5 Sep 05

Process termination via crafted BPF filter in libpcap allows a local attacker with low privileges to crash any applicati

CVE-2026-31912 MEDIUM
5.5 Sep 05

Out-of-bounds memory reads in libpcap's userland BPF interpreter allow a local attacker who can supply a crafted filter

CVE-2019-15165 MEDIUM
5.3 Oct 03

sf-pcapng.c in libpcap before 1.9.1 does not properly validate the PHB header length before allocating memory. Rated med

CVE-2019-15164 MEDIUM
5.3 Oct 03

rpcapd/daemon.c in libpcap before 1.9.1 allows SSRF because a URL may be provided as a capture source. Rated medium seve

CVE-2019-15162 MEDIUM
5.3 Oct 03

rpcapd/daemon.c in libpcap before 1.9.1 on non-Windows platforms provides details about why authentication failed, which

CVE-2019-15161 MEDIUM
5.3 Oct 03

rpcapd/daemon.c in libpcap before 1.9.1 mishandles certain length values because of reuse of a variable. Rated medium se

CVE-2026-18238 MEDIUM
5.0 Sep 05

Remote memory disclosure in libpcap's rpcap client allows a malicious or compromised rpcap server to cause a connected c

CVE-2024-8006 MEDIUM
4.4 Aug 31

Remote packet capture support is disabled by default in libpcap. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.4), this vulnerability is

CVE-2026-18313 MEDIUM
4.3 Sep 05

Memory exhaustion in libpcap's rpcapd remote capture daemon allows an authenticated remote client to degrade or crash th

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