[Bug 2071891] Re: tcpdump segv if -Z and -w is specified
Matthew Ruffell
2071891 at bugs.launchpad.net
Tue Sep 30 23:46:41 UTC 2025
Actual debdiff that was sponsored for plucky.
** Patch added: "Debdiff for tcpdump on plucky"
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/tcpdump/+bug/2071891/+attachment/5913501/+files/lp417417_plucky.debdiff
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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/2071891
Title:
tcpdump segv if -Z and -w is specified
Status in tcpdump package in Ubuntu:
Fix Released
Status in tcpdump source package in Noble:
In Progress
Status in tcpdump source package in Oracular:
Won't Fix
Status in tcpdump source package in Plucky:
In Progress
Status in tcpdump source package in Questing:
Fix Released
Status in tcpdump package in Debian:
Fix Released
Bug description:
[ Impact ]
There is currently a bug in tcpdump causing it to segfault on Noble
machines and newer.
This is because of a bad interaction with d/p/drop-privs-only-if-non-root.diff
where using -Z root sets username to NULL, causing a null pointer dereference and subsequent segmentation fault.
[ Test Plan ]
Make sure you are on a noble machine or newer and that tcpdump is
installed.
$ sudo apt install tcpdump
To reproduce the issue simply run the following command:
$ sudo tcpdump -Z root -ni lo -w /tmp/lo.pcap
Note that running it with sudo or being in a root shell is a requirement to trigger the crash.
You will see the following when reproducing the crash:
```
ghadi at XPS-17-9720 ~ ยป sudo tcpdump -Z root -ni lo -w /tmp/lo.pcap
[1] 1250151 segmentation fault sudo tcpdump -Z root -ni lo -w /tmp/lo.pcap
```
[ Where problems could occur ]
Since the patch makes sure that the username is valid before changing
ownership, a possible regression might be that tcpdump fails to run
due to permission issues, or that it still segfaults due to other
checks that might be required.
[ Other info ]
The bug has been fixed in debian upstream here:
https://salsa.debian.org/debian/tcpdump/-/blob/master/debian/patches/drop-
privs-after-opening-savefile.diff
There is also a discussion about it on the debian bug tracker:
https://bugs.debian.org/935112
This was fixed in:
commit b4b1230f07df973f8c8c339ec022f2357bc1179e
From: Romain Francoise <rfrancoise at debian.org>
Date: Fri, 23 Aug 2024 18:39:26 +0200
Subject: Avoid getpwnam(NULL) when called with `-Z root' (#1078771)
Link: https://salsa.debian.org/debian/tcpdump/-/commit/b4b1230f07df973f8c8c339ec022f2357bc1179e
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