CVE-2018-10103 in tcpdump
Summary
by MITRE
tcpdump before 4.9.3 mishandles the printing of SMB data (issue 1 of 2).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/02/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-10103 affects tcpdump versions prior to 4.9.3 and specifically addresses a flaw in how the network packet analysis tool handles the printing of Server Message Block protocol data. This issue represents a significant security concern within network monitoring and forensic analysis tools that rely on tcpdump for packet inspection. The vulnerability manifests when tcpdump processes SMB traffic and fails to properly handle certain data structures during the printing phase, potentially leading to unexpected behavior or system instability.
The technical flaw stems from improper handling of SMB data structures within tcpdump's dissector functionality for the SMB protocol. When tcpdump encounters SMB packets during network capture, it attempts to decode and display the protocol information for analysis purposes. However, the vulnerability occurs in the printing logic where the tool does not adequately validate or handle specific SMB data formats, particularly those involving variable-length fields or complex nested structures. This improper handling can result in buffer overflows, memory corruption, or unexpected program termination when processing malformed SMB data packets.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability poses serious risks to network security monitoring environments that depend on tcpdump for SMB traffic analysis. Security operations centers and network administrators who use tcpdump for network forensics, intrusion detection, or protocol analysis may experience system crashes or unexpected behavior when processing SMB traffic. The vulnerability could be exploited by attackers to disrupt network monitoring operations or potentially gain unauthorized access to systems running vulnerable tcpdump versions. Organizations that rely on tcpdump for network traffic inspection may face false positives in security alerts or complete monitoring failures during SMB traffic analysis.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, which addresses stack-based buffer overflow conditions, and CWE-125, which covers out-of-bounds read vulnerabilities. These classifications indicate that the flaw involves improper handling of memory boundaries during data processing. The issue also maps to ATT&CK technique T1046, which involves network service scanning, as the vulnerability could be leveraged to disrupt network monitoring capabilities. Additionally, the flaw relates to T1059, command and scripting interpreter, through potential exploitation of the command-line interface of tcpdump during packet processing.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-10103 primarily involve upgrading to tcpdump version 4.9.3 or later, which includes patches addressing the SMB data printing flaw. Organizations should also implement network segmentation to limit exposure and monitor for suspicious SMB traffic patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. Security teams should conduct thorough vulnerability assessments of their network monitoring infrastructure to identify all systems running vulnerable tcpdump versions. Additional protective measures include implementing network access controls, deploying intrusion detection systems with updated signatures, and maintaining regular patch management procedures to ensure all network monitoring tools remain current with security updates.