Software Engineering Institute

Ethereal is a network traffic analysis package. It includes the ability to decode packets containing NetFlow data. There is a buffer overflow vulnerability in the way the NetFlow v9 dissector parses v9_template structures in a NetFlow UDP packet. A remote, unauthenticated attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a NetFlow UDP packet containing an overly large template_entry count which could allow for arbitrary code execution.

A remote, unauthenticated attacker could execute arbitrary code on the vulnerable system.

Upgrade

Upgrade to version 0.10.3 or later.

Note: Ethereal is considered BETA software at this time.

Disable Dissector

If you are unable to upgrade to version 0.10.3 or later, you can disable the NetFlow protocol dissector by performing the following actions in Ethereal:

(for Ethereal versions 0.9.x)
1) Select Edit->Protocols
2) Deselect the NetFlow protocol dissector from the list

(for Ethereal versions 0.10.x)
1) Select Analyze->Enabled Protocols
2) Disable the CFLOW (Cisco NetFlow) protocol dissector from the list by unchecking its "Status" checkbox

However, it is strongly encouraged to upgrade to version 0.10.3 or later.