A significant security flaw has been identified in Wireshark, the widely utilized network protocol analyzer, potentially allowing attackers to execute denial-of-service (DoS) attacks through malicious packet injection or by enticing users to open specially crafted capture files. This vulnerability, designated as CVE-2025-5601, poses a substantial risk to the millions of users who depend on Wireshark for network troubleshooting and analysis.
Vulnerability Details
The Wireshark Foundation disclosed this vulnerability on June 4, 2025, assigning it a high severity rating with a Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) score of 7.8. The flaw resides in Wireshark’s column utility module, where certain protocol dissectors crash upon processing malformed network traffic. This issue affects versions 4.4.0 through 4.4.6 and 4.2.0 through 4.2.12. Classified under CWE-120, the vulnerability is characterized as a Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input, commonly known as a buffer overflow condition.
Exploitation Methods
Attackers can exploit this vulnerability through two primary methods:
1. Malicious Packet Injection: By injecting malformed packets directly into the network monitored by Wireshark, attackers can trigger the vulnerability, causing the application to crash.
2. Crafted Capture Files: Attackers can create corrupted packet capture files and persuade users to open them in Wireshark, leading to a crash upon processing the malicious data.
The Wireshark Foundation noted that the vulnerability was discovered during internal testing and, as of the disclosure date, there were no known exploits in the wild. However, given Wireshark’s extensive use in enterprise environments, the potential for exploitation remains a significant concern.
Impact on Network Operations
Successful exploitation of this vulnerability results in the abrupt termination of the Wireshark application, disrupting critical network analysis and monitoring tasks. For organizations that rely on Wireshark for real-time network security monitoring and incident response, such disruptions can have severe consequences, including:
– Delayed Threat Detection: Inability to monitor network traffic effectively may lead to delayed identification of malicious activities.
– Operational Downtime: Crashes can cause interruptions in network diagnostics, affecting overall operational efficiency.
– Increased Vulnerability: Without effective monitoring, networks may become more susceptible to other forms of cyberattacks.
Mitigation Measures
To address this critical vulnerability, the Wireshark Foundation has released patches and strongly advises users to upgrade to the latest versions:
– Wireshark 4.4.7
– Wireshark 4.2.12
These updates, available since June 4, 2025, contain the necessary fixes to mitigate the vulnerability.
Additional Precautionary Steps
Beyond updating the software, security experts recommend implementing the following measures to enhance protection:
– Verify Capture File Sources: Ensure that packet capture files originate from trusted sources before opening them in Wireshark.
– Restrict Packet Capture Operations: Limit network packet capture activities to trusted network segments to reduce exposure to potentially malicious traffic.
– Implement Network Segmentation: Divide the network into segments to contain potential threats and minimize the impact of any single point of failure.
Historical Context
This vulnerability is part of an ongoing pattern of security issues affecting Wireshark’s protocol dissector modules. Previous vulnerabilities include:
– CVE-2025-1492: A flaw in the Bundle Protocol and CBOR dissectors that could lead to crashes, infinite loops, and memory leaks when processing specially crafted network traffic.
– CVE-2020-15466: An infinite loop within the GVCP dissector, allowing remote attackers to deploy DoS attacks by passing specially designed packet tracking files to the application.
– CVE-2019-13619: A vulnerability in the ASN.1 BER and related dissectors that could crash Wireshark upon processing malformed packets, leading to potential DoS conditions.
These incidents underscore the challenges in securing complex network analysis tools that must parse diverse and potentially malicious network traffic.
Conclusion
The discovery of CVE-2025-5601 highlights the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date software and implementing robust security practices. Organizations utilizing Wireshark should prioritize immediate patching and review their network monitoring protocols to prevent potential exploitation. By staying vigilant and proactive, users can continue to rely on Wireshark as an indispensable tool for network analysis and security.
