# CVE-2016-6504: Null dereference in n/a

> Remote attackers can cause a denial of service via a crafted packet due to a NULL pointer dereference in the NDS dissector.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.9 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 6 Aug 2016
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2016-6504, GHSA-j2vp-v494-6r6f, UBUNTU-CVE-2016-6504

## What is CVE-2016-6504?

CVE-2016-6504 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Wireshark Wireshark, published on 6 Aug 2016. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

epan/dissectors/packet-ncp2222.inc in the NDS dissector in Wireshark 1.12.x before 1.12.13 does not properly maintain a ptvc data structure, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and application crash) via a crafted packet.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-6504?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Wireshark Wireshark.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-6504?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2016-6504 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2016-6504 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Wireshark 1.12.0 < 1.12.12 - NDS Dissector Denial of Service (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-2016-6504 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-6504 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Wireshark Wireshark, published on 6 Aug 2016. 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-2016-6504 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-2016-6504/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-6504/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-6504
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-6504
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-6504

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-6504/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.