CVE-2025-11964VulnerabilityPublished 31 Dec 2025Updated 2 Jan 2026

CVE-2025-11964: The Tcpdump Group libpcap · Out-of-bounds Write

Affects The Tcpdump Group libpcapSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 1.9 Low.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

1.9Low

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 1% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N

Attack Vector: Local
Attack Complexity: High
Privileges Required: High
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: Low
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Local: The vulnerable component is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either: the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or remotely (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., tricking a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
Attack Complexity: High: A successful attack depends on conditions beyond the attacker's control. That is, a successful attack cannot be accomplished at will, but requires the attacker to invest in some measurable amount of effort in preparation or execution against the vulnerable component before a successful attack can be expected. For example, a successful attack may require an attacker to: gather knowledge about the environment in which the vulnerable target/component exists; prepare the target environment to improve exploit reliability; or inject themselves into the logical network path between the target and the resource requested by the victim in order to read and/or modify network communications (e.g., a man in the middle attack).
Privileges Required: High: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide significant (e.g., administrative) control over the vulnerable component that could affect component-wide settings and files.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact on the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 31 Dec 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-25.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
GitHubthe-tcpdump-group/libpcap`pkg:github/the-tcpdump-group/libpcap`Other threats	Affected =1.10.0	Fixed in–

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2025-11964, organizations should: 1) Monitor for and apply vendor patches or updates to libpcap as soon as they become available, ensuring the vulnerable function is corrected. 2) Audit and restrict local administrative privileges to minimize the risk of exploitation by unauthorized users. 3) Review and harden Windows error message handling in applications that utilize libpcap to avoid triggering the vulnerable code path. 4) Employ runtime memory protection mechanisms such as Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR) and Data Execution Prevention (DEP) on Windows hosts to reduce exploitation success. 5) Conduct thorough testing of network monitoring and forensic tools after updates to verify stability and correctness. 6) Maintain robust logging and monitoring to detect anomalous behavior indicative of exploitation attempts. 7) Consider isolating critical network analysis systems to limit exposure to potential insider threats. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on privilege management, error handling, and proactive patch management tailored to the vulnerability's characteristics.

Description

On Windows only, if libpcap needs to convert a Windows error message to UTF-8 and the message includes characters that UTF-8 represents using 4 bytes, utf_16le_to_utf_8_truncated() can write data beyond the end of the provided buffer.

Impact

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2025-11964 is relatively low but non-negligible. Since libpcap is embedded in many network security and monitoring tools, any integrity compromise could affect the accuracy and reliability of network data analysis, potentially leading to incorrect forensic conclusions or missed detection of malicious activity. The vulnerability requires local high-privilege access, limiting remote exploitation risks. However, insider threats or compromised administrative accounts could leverage this flaw to destabilize security monitoring tools or cause subtle data corruption. The absence of confidentiality or availability impact reduces the risk of data leaks or denial of service. Organizations relying heavily on Windows-based network analysis tools incorporating libpcap should prioritize remediation to maintain operational integrity. The lack of known exploits reduces immediate threat but does not eliminate future risk, especially as attackers may develop exploits targeting this flaw.

CWE-787Out-of-bounds Write (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #5
The product writes data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.
Requirements · Language Selection
Use a language that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
Architecture and Design · Libraries or Frameworks
Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
Operation · Build and Compilation · Environment Hardening
Use automatic buffer overflow detection mechanisms that are offered by certain compilers or compiler extensions. Examples include: the Microsoft Visual Studio /GS flag, Fedora/Red Hat FORTIFY_SOURCE GCC flag, StackGuard, and ProPolice, which provide various mechanisms including canary-based detection and range/index…
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.3 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

github.com/the-tcpdump-group/libpcap/commit/7fabf607f2319a36a0bd78444247180acb838e69 (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 7 Jan 2026, 03:26 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-787

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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