CVE-2000-0333

Ethereal - Denial of Service via Malformed DNS Packet

Title source: llm
STIX 2.1

Exploitation Summary

EIP tracks 2 public exploits for CVE-2000-0333. PoCs published by scut, Hugo Breton.

AI-analyzed exploit summary The vulnerability in tcpdump and other sniffers (e.g., Ethereal) involves a DNS name compression flaw that triggers an infinite loop during packet decompression, leading to a DoS condition. This affects real-time packet analysis but not file-based logging.

Description

tcpdump, Ethereal, and other sniffer packages allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service via malformed DNS packets in which a jump offset refers to itself, which causes tcpdump to enter an infinite loop while decompressing the packet.

Exploits (2)

exploitdb WRITEUP VERIFIED
by scut · textremotelinux
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/19892

The vulnerability in tcpdump and other sniffers (e.g., Ethereal) involves a DNS name compression flaw that triggers an infinite loop during packet decompression, leading to a DoS condition. This affects real-time packet analysis but not file-based logging.

Classification
Writeup 90%
Attack Type
Dos
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: tcpdump (LBL), Ethereal (Gerald Combs)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Ability to send crafted DNS packets to a target running vulnerable sniffer software
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
exploitdb WORKING POC VERIFIED
by Hugo Breton · cremotelinux
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/19891

This exploit demonstrates a DoS vulnerability in tcpdump and other sniffers by crafting a malformed DNS packet that triggers an infinite loop during decompression. The PoC sends a UDP packet to a target DNS server, causing tcpdump to hang when processing it.

Classification
Working Poc 90%
Attack Type
Dos
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: tcpdump (versions prior to fix), Ethereal, and other DNS-decoding sniffers
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Network access to a vulnerable DNS server or sniffer · Ability to send UDP packets to port 53
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →

References (2)

Core 2
Core References
Exploit, Patch, Vendor Advisory vdb-entry x_refsource_bid
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/1165

Scores

EPSS 0.0758
EPSS Percentile 93.7%

Details

Status published
Products (5)
ethereal_group/ethereal 0.8.4
ethereal_group/ethereal 0.8.5
ethereal_group/ethereal 0.8.6
lbl/tcpdump 3.4
lbl/tcpdump 3.5a
Published May 31, 1999
Tracked Since Feb 18, 2026