CVE-2009-3243 in Wireshark
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in the TLS dissector in Wireshark 1.2.0 and 1.2.1, when running on Windows, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) via unknown vectors related to TLS 1.2 conversations.
Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/27/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2009-3243 represents a critical denial of service weakness within Wireshark's TLS dissector component, specifically affecting versions 1.2.0 and 1.2.1 when operating on Windows platforms. This flaw resides in the protocol analysis functionality that Wireshark employs to decode and display Transport Layer Security communications, particularly those utilizing TLS 1.2 encryption standards. The unspecified nature of the attack vectors suggests that multiple conditions or inputs could trigger the application crash, making the vulnerability particularly concerning for security professionals who rely on Wireshark for network traffic analysis and forensic investigations.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability demonstrates a failure in input validation and memory management within Wireshark's TLS protocol dissector module. When processing certain TLS 1.2 conversation data streams, the dissector does not properly handle malformed or unexpected packet structures, leading to memory corruption or invalid pointer dereferences that ultimately result in application termination. This behavior aligns with common software security weaknesses categorized under CWE-125, which addresses out-of-bounds read conditions, and CWE-129, which covers insufficient input validation. The Windows-specific nature of the vulnerability indicates that the underlying memory management or threading mechanisms in the Windows build of Wireshark are particularly susceptible to these malformed TLS 1.2 packets.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption, as it fundamentally compromises the reliability of network forensic analysis capabilities. Security analysts and network administrators who depend on Wireshark for monitoring network traffic, identifying security incidents, or conducting penetration testing could find their investigative tools rendered completely unusable when encountering maliciously crafted TLS 1.2 traffic. This vulnerability creates a potential attack vector where remote adversaries could systematically disrupt network monitoring operations by simply sending specially crafted TLS packets to a system running the vulnerable Wireshark version. The disruption could be particularly severe in environments where continuous network monitoring is critical for security operations, as it would effectively blind security teams to network activities during the time the application remains crashed.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2009-3243 primarily involve immediate version upgrades to Wireshark 1.2.2 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address the TLS dissector flaws. Network administrators should also implement network segmentation and monitoring to detect and isolate potentially malicious TLS traffic before it reaches systems running vulnerable Wireshark versions. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing alternative network analysis tools or deploying network monitoring solutions that do not rely on the vulnerable dissector functionality. The vulnerability highlights the importance of maintaining current security tool versions and demonstrates how even widely trusted forensic tools can contain critical flaws that impact operational security. This incident aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499, which covers network denial of service attacks, and emphasizes the need for robust input validation and memory safety practices in network security applications.