# CVE-2013-4074: Denial of service in n/a

> Remote attackers can crash Wireshark via crafted CAPWAP packets due to improper error handling in the dissector.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.0 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 9 Jun 2013
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2013-4074, GHSA-xp6r-3p5r-p29g

## What is CVE-2013-4074?

CVE-2013-4074 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 9 Jun 2013. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The dissect_capwap_data function in epan/dissectors/packet-capwap.c in the CAPWAP dissector in Wireshark 1.6.x before 1.6.16 and 1.8.x before 1.8.8 incorrectly uses a -1 data value to represent an error condition, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) via a crafted packet.

Weakness: CWE-189

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2013-4074?

It affects 3 products.


Products: Debian Debian Linux, Opensuse Opensuse, Wireshark Wireshark.

## How do I fix CVE-2013-4074?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2013-4074 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2013-4074 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Wireshark CAPWAP Dissector DoS (metasploit)
- Wireshark CAPWAP Dissector - Denial of Service (Metasploit) (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in Debian Debian Linux

- [CVE-2015-3306](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-3306/): ProFTPD Improper Access Control (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-49113](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-49113/): RoundCube Webmail Deserialization of Untrusted Data (critical 9.9, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-24061](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-24061/): GNU InetUtils Argument Injection (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-39682](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-39682/): Linux Kernel Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-9680](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-9680/): Mozilla Firefox Use-After-Free (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2013-4074 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2013-4074 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 9 Jun 2013. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2013-4074 exists.

Affected product: Debian Debian Linux. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-4074/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-4074/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2013-4074
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2013-4074
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2013-4074

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-4074/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.