CVE-2006-5468 in Wireshark
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in the HTTP dissector in Wireshark (formerly Ethereal) 0.99.3 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/25/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2006-5468 represents a critical denial of service flaw within Wireshark's HTTP dissector component version 0.99.3. This issue affects the network protocol analysis tool that was previously known as Ethereal, which is widely used by security professionals and network administrators for packet inspection and troubleshooting. The HTTP dissector serves as a core component responsible for parsing and displaying HTTP protocol data within captured network traffic, making it an essential element for network monitoring and forensic analysis operations.
The technical nature of this vulnerability lies within the processing logic of the HTTP dissector module, which fails to properly handle certain malformed or specially crafted HTTP protocol data structures. While the exact vectors remain unspecified in the original description, such vulnerabilities typically arise from inadequate input validation and error handling mechanisms within protocol parsing code. The flaw manifests when the dissector encounters specific packet patterns or data sequences that trigger unexpected behavior in the parsing algorithms, leading to application instability and eventual crash conditions. This type of vulnerability falls under the category of improper input validation as classified by CWE-20, where the software does not adequately sanitize or validate input data before processing.
The operational impact of CVE-2006-5468 extends beyond simple service disruption, as it can severely compromise network monitoring operations and security analysis workflows. When an attacker successfully exploits this vulnerability, they can cause Wireshark to crash and terminate unexpectedly, potentially interrupting ongoing network analysis sessions and rendering the tool temporarily unavailable for critical security tasks. This disruption can be particularly damaging in environments where continuous network monitoring is essential for threat detection and incident response activities. The vulnerability also represents a potential vector for more sophisticated attacks, as it could be combined with other techniques to create persistent denial of service conditions that degrade network security infrastructure performance.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate remediation through software updates and patches provided by the Wireshark development community. Organizations should prioritize updating to versions that contain fixes for this specific HTTP dissector flaw, as the vulnerability affects the core functionality of the application. Additionally, network administrators should implement monitoring solutions to detect unusual application behavior and establish incident response procedures for handling potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of maintaining current security tool versions and highlights the need for robust input validation practices in network protocol analysis software. This issue aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004 for network denial of service and emphasizes the critical nature of protocol analysis tool security in cybersecurity operations.