Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2019-15167 is a tcpdump parsing flaw. A crafted VRRP version 3 packet or capture file can make vulnerable tcpdump read beyond a buffer while decoding traffic. For organizations, the risk is highest where tcpdump processes untrusted network traffic or packet captures.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation for network operations, incident response, and monitoring environments. This is critical severity, but urgency should be driven by whether vulnerable tcpdump versions process untrusted live traffic or captures.
Technical view
The CVE describes a CWE-125 buffer over-read in tcpdump before 4.9.3, specifically print-vrrp.c:vrrp_print() when parsing VRRP version 3. The CVSS 3.1 vector is network reachable, low complexity, no privileges, no user interaction, with high confidentiality and availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely on systems, tools, appliances, or analyst workstations running tcpdump before 4.9.3 and inspecting VRRPv3 traffic or untrusted captures. The source bundle does not provide affected CPEs or downstream vendor package details.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or cited evidence of active exploitation. The CVSS score is critical because crafted network data can trigger the parser flaw without privileges or user interaction, but exploit availability is not established here.
Researcher notes
The record names tcpdump before 4.9.3 and points to an upstream commit. Affected product metadata is sparse, so downstream exposure requires package-level validation. Do not infer active exploitation from CVSS alone.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade tcpdump to 4.9.3 or a vendor-fixed later package.
- Check Linux distribution advisories for backported fixes in older package versions.
- Avoid processing untrusted packet captures with vulnerable tcpdump builds.
- Limit packet capture access to trusted administrators and controlled analysis hosts.
- Track the upstream tcpdump commit referenced by the CVE.
Validation and detection
- Inventory tcpdump versions across servers, endpoints, containers, and analysis workstations.
- Confirm package changelogs reference CVE-2019-15167 or the upstream fix commit.
- Identify workflows that parse VRRPv3 traffic or third-party capture files.
- Verify security tools or appliances do not embed vulnerable tcpdump versions.
- Document exceptions where vendor backport status is unclear.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-125: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2019-15167 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Critical
- CVSS
- 9.1 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H3.95.2Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
9.1CriticalVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://github.com/the-tcpdump-group/tcpdump/commit/a152aebfd1114376ba266ed30416be596ef9d806CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Out-of-bounds Read
Out-of-bounds Read represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.