CVE-2013-4923 in Wireshark
Summary
by MITRE
Memory leak in the dissect_dcom_ActivationProperties function in epan/dissectors/packet-dcom-sysact.c in the DCOM ISystemActivator dissector in Wireshark 1.10.x before 1.10.1 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory consumption) via crafted packets.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/20/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-4923 represents a critical memory management flaw within Wireshark's DCOM ISystemActivator dissector component. This issue exists in the dissect_dcom_ActivationProperties function located in epan/dissectors/packet-dcom-sysact.c, affecting Wireshark versions 1.10.x prior to 1.10.1. The flaw manifests as a memory leak that occurs during packet analysis when processing specially crafted DCOM activation properties messages. The vulnerability specifically targets the dissector's handling of DCOM system activation protocols, which are used for activating distributed COM objects across network boundaries. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious network packets containing malformed DCOM activation properties data that triggers the memory leak condition within the Wireshark packet analysis engine.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from improper memory management within the dissector's activation properties parsing logic. When Wireshark processes packets containing DCOM ISystemActivator data structures, the dissect_dcom_ActivationProperties function fails to properly release allocated memory resources after processing certain malformed activation property sequences. This memory leak occurs repeatedly with each malicious packet processed, causing progressive memory consumption within the Wireshark application. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-401, which specifically addresses improper release of memory after use, and represents a classic denial of service vector through resource exhaustion. The flaw demonstrates poor defensive programming practices where allocated memory blocks are not consistently freed, leading to gradual memory fragmentation and eventual application instability.
The operational impact of CVE-2013-4923 extends beyond simple resource consumption to potentially compromise network monitoring capabilities and system availability. An attacker capable of sending malicious packets to a Wireshark instance running in capture mode can systematically consume available memory resources, eventually leading to application crashes or complete system unresponsiveness. This makes the vulnerability particularly dangerous in network monitoring environments where Wireshark is used continuously to analyze network traffic. The memory leak can be exploited remotely without requiring authentication or special privileges, making it an attractive target for attackers seeking to disrupt network analysis operations. The vulnerability affects both active network monitoring and passive packet analysis scenarios, as any DCOM-related traffic processed by Wireshark could potentially trigger the memory leak condition.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2013-4923 focus primarily on immediate version upgrades to Wireshark 1.10.1 or later, which contain the necessary code fixes to properly manage memory allocation and deallocation within the affected dissector. Network administrators should implement network segmentation and access controls to limit exposure to potentially malicious traffic, particularly in environments where Wireshark is deployed for network monitoring. The fix implemented in the patched versions addresses the core memory management issue by ensuring proper deallocation of memory resources after processing DCOM activation properties. Organizations should also consider implementing network traffic filtering rules to reduce exposure to DCOM-related traffic when possible. This vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper memory management in network analysis tools and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.001 for network denial of service attacks, where adversaries leverage memory exhaustion to compromise system availability. Security monitoring should include detection of unusual memory consumption patterns in network analysis tools to identify potential exploitation attempts.