CVE-2009-3241 in Wireshark
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in the OpcUa (OPC UA) dissector in Wireshark 0.99.6 through 1.0.8 and 1.2.0 through 1.2.1 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory and CPU consumption) via malformed OPCUA Service CallRequest packets.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/16/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2009-3241 represents a critical security flaw in Wireshark's OPC UA dissector component that affects versions ranging from 0.99.6 through 1.0.8 and 1.2.0 through 1.2.1. This issue falls under the category of denial of service attacks and specifically targets the Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture protocol implementation within the network protocol analyzer. The OPC UA dissector is responsible for parsing and interpreting OPC UA traffic, which is commonly used in industrial control systems and manufacturing environments for communication between devices and applications.
The technical flaw manifests when the dissector processes malformed OPCUA Service CallRequest packets that contain invalid or unexpected data structures. These malformed packets trigger memory allocation and processing behaviors that cause excessive resource consumption, leading to significant CPU utilization and memory exhaustion on the affected system. The vulnerability exploits the lack of proper input validation and error handling within the dissector's parsing logic, allowing attackers to craft specially crafted packets that cause the application to consume disproportionate computational resources. This behavior is consistent with CWE-129, which describes improper validation of array indices, and CWE-400, which covers resource exhaustion vulnerabilities.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption as it can affect network monitoring and analysis capabilities in critical infrastructure environments. When exploited, the vulnerability can cause Wireshark to become unresponsive or crash entirely, effectively removing the network monitoring capability that organizations rely on for security operations and troubleshooting. The attack vector is particularly concerning as it requires only the ability to capture network traffic, making it accessible to attackers who may have limited network access or who can inject malicious packets into the network. This vulnerability directly aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004, which covers network denial of service attacks, and represents a significant risk to industrial control system security monitoring.
Organizations using affected Wireshark versions should immediately implement mitigations including upgrading to patched versions where available, implementing network segmentation to limit exposure, and deploying intrusion detection systems to monitor for suspicious OPC UA traffic patterns. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper input validation and resource management in protocol dissector implementations, particularly in security tools that process potentially malicious network traffic. Additionally, network administrators should consider implementing rate limiting and traffic filtering rules specifically targeting OPC UA protocols to reduce the attack surface and prevent exploitation of similar vulnerabilities in other dissector components.