CVE-2012-3826 in Wireshark
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple integer underflows in Wireshark 1.4.x before 1.4.13 and 1.6.x before 1.6.8 allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (loop) via vectors related to the R3 dissector, a different vulnerability than CVE-2012-2392.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/28/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2012-3826 represents a critical integer underflow issue affecting Wireshark versions 1.4.x prior to 1.4.13 and 1.6.x prior to 1.6.8. This flaw resides within the R3 dissector component of the network protocol analysis tool, which is responsible for decoding and interpreting specific network protocols. The vulnerability specifically impacts the processing of certain packet structures that contain integer values which, when manipulated by an attacker, can cause the dissector to enter an infinite loop or execute unintended operations. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-190 category of Integer Overflow or Wraparound, where arithmetic operations produce results that exceed the maximum value representable by the data type, leading to unexpected behavior in the application.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when a remote attacker crafts malicious network packets that contain specially formatted integer values within the R3 protocol structure. When Wireshark processes these packets through its dissector engine, the integer underflow causes the loop control variables to become negative or zero, resulting in an infinite loop that consumes excessive CPU resources. This denial of service condition can be triggered simply by capturing and analyzing the malicious packets, without requiring any special privileges or authentication. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it affects the core packet processing functionality of Wireshark, making it possible for an attacker to disrupt network analysis operations in real-time captures or when analyzing packet captures containing the malicious traffic.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates significant risks for network security professionals and organizations that rely on Wireshark for network monitoring, troubleshooting, and security analysis. When exploited, the infinite loop causes Wireshark to become unresponsive, effectively rendering the network analysis tool useless for its intended purpose. This can severely impact incident response activities, network troubleshooting operations, and security monitoring capabilities. The vulnerability is particularly concerning in environments where Wireshark is used for continuous network monitoring or where automated analysis systems depend on the tool's stability. Network administrators and security analysts who regularly analyze packet captures or perform real-time network monitoring are at risk of experiencing complete service disruption when encountering malicious traffic containing the vulnerable packet structures.
The mitigation strategy for CVE-2012-3826 involves immediate upgrading of Wireshark installations to versions 1.4.13 or 1.6.8, which contain the necessary patches to address the integer underflow conditions. Organizations should also implement network segmentation and traffic filtering mechanisms to prevent the injection of malicious packets that could trigger the vulnerability. Additionally, network security teams should consider implementing monitoring solutions that can detect abnormal CPU usage patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input validation and bounds checking in network protocol parsers, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for Command and Scripting Interpreter and T1499.004 for Endpoint Denial of Service. System administrators should also maintain regular patching schedules and implement network access controls to minimize exposure to such vulnerabilities in the broader network infrastructure.