# CVE-2015-8729: Denial of service in n/a

> Remote attackers can crash Wireshark via a crafted Ascend file due to an out-of-bounds read in the parser.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 4 Jan 2016
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2015-8729, GHSA-4j9x-qcwv-7w37, UBUNTU-CVE-2015-8729

## What is CVE-2015-8729?

CVE-2015-8729 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Wireshark Wireshark, published on 4 Jan 2016. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

The ascend_seek function in wiretap/ascendtext.c in the Ascend file parser in Wireshark 1.12.x before 1.12.9 and 2.0.x before 2.0.1 does not ensure the presence of a '\0' character at the end of a date string, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (out-of-bounds read and application crash) via a crafted file.

Weakness: CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2015-8729?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Wireshark Wireshark.

## How do I fix CVE-2015-8729?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2015-8729 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2015-8729 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Wireshark - ascend_seek Static Out-of-Bounds Read (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in Wireshark Wireshark

- [CVE-2011-0444](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-0444/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2010-2994](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-2994/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2010-2995](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-2995/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2009-1266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-1266/): Other in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2009-1210](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-1210/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2015-8729 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2015-8729 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Wireshark Wireshark, published on 4 Jan 2016. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2015-8729 exists.

Affected product: Wireshark Wireshark. 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-2015-8729/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-8729/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2015-8729
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-8729
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2015-8729

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-8729/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.