CVE-2013-6340 in Wireshark
Summary
by MITRE
epan/dissectors/packet-tcp.c in the TCP dissector in Wireshark 1.8.x before 1.8.11 and 1.10.x before 1.10.3 does not properly determine the amount of remaining data, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) via a crafted packet.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/01/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-6340 resides within the TCP dissector component of Wireshark, specifically in the packet-tcp.c file that handles the interpretation and analysis of Transmission Control Protocol traffic. This flaw affects versions 1.8.x prior to 1.8.11 and 1.10.x prior to 1.10.3, representing a critical denial of service vulnerability that can be exploited remotely through the careful crafting of network packets. The vulnerability stems from improper calculation of remaining data within TCP segments, creating a scenario where the dissector fails to accurately track packet boundaries and data offsets during protocol analysis.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability can be categorized under CWE-129, which addresses improper validation of array index values, and more specifically aligns with CWE-125, improper access to memory beyond the allocated bounds. The flaw manifests when Wireshark processes malformed TCP packets where the dissector incorrectly computes the amount of data remaining in a TCP segment, leading to buffer overflows or invalid memory access patterns. This miscomputation occurs during the packet parsing phase when the TCP dissector attempts to determine the boundaries of TCP payload data within the captured packet structure. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it operates at the protocol analysis layer, where the dissector is responsible for interpreting network traffic for forensic analysis and troubleshooting purposes.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents a significant risk to network security analysts and forensic investigators who rely on Wireshark for network traffic analysis. An attacker capable of sending a specially crafted TCP packet to a system running an affected version of Wireshark can trigger an application crash, effectively causing a denial of service condition that disrupts network monitoring and analysis operations. The impact extends beyond simple service interruption as it can compromise the integrity of network forensic investigations, potentially causing analysts to miss critical security events or to lose valuable traffic data during incident response activities. The remote exploitation nature of this vulnerability means that attackers do not need physical access to the target system or network, making it particularly dangerous in environments where network monitoring tools are deployed.
The attack pattern associated with CVE-2013-6340 follows the ATT&CK technique T1499.004, which involves network disruption through application or service availability attacks, and can be classified under T1071.004 for application layer protocol usage. The vulnerability exploits the fundamental parsing logic within Wireshark's TCP dissector, which is designed to reconstruct and display TCP packet information for analysis. When an attacker crafts packets with malformed TCP headers or payload lengths, the dissector's internal state management becomes corrupted, leading to memory corruption and eventual application termination. This type of vulnerability is particularly concerning in enterprise environments where network monitoring tools are central to security operations, as it can be used to disrupt security monitoring capabilities.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability include immediate upgrade to Wireshark versions 1.8.11 or 1.10.3 and later, which contain the necessary patches to properly handle TCP packet boundary calculations. Organizations should also implement network segmentation and monitoring to detect and prevent exploitation attempts, while maintaining regular patch management processes to ensure all network analysis tools remain up-to-date with security fixes. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input validation in protocol analysis tools and highlights the need for robust memory management practices in network security applications. Additionally, network administrators should consider implementing additional monitoring and alerting mechanisms around critical network analysis systems to detect potential exploitation attempts and maintain operational continuity during security incidents.