CVE-2015-8715 in Wireshark
Summary
by MITRE
epan/dissectors/packet-alljoyn.c in the AllJoyn dissector in Wireshark 1.12.x before 1.12.9 does not check for empty arguments, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (infinite loop) via a crafted packet.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/02/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-8715 resides within the AllJoyn dissector component of Wireshark version 1.12.x prior to 1.12.9. This flaw specifically affects the packet-alljoyn.c file which processes AllJoyn protocol traffic during network packet analysis. The AllJoyn protocol is a framework for device-to-device communication that enables seamless discovery and interaction between smart devices across different networks. When Wireshark processes packets containing AllJoyn protocol data, the dissector attempts to parse and display the protocol information for network analysis purposes.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation within the AllJoyn dissector implementation. The dissector fails to properly validate the length and content of arguments contained within AllJoyn protocol packets. When a remote attacker crafts a specially designed packet containing malformed or empty arguments, the dissector enters an infinite loop during the parsing process. This occurs because the code does not include proper boundary checks or argument validation before attempting to process the data, leading to a condition where the parsing routine continuously iterates without making progress toward completing the packet analysis.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it enables remote attackers to execute a denial of service attack against systems running affected versions of Wireshark. An attacker who can send crafted AllJoyn protocol packets to a system running Wireshark can cause the application to become unresponsive, effectively rendering the network analysis capabilities useless until the application is manually restarted. This type of attack can be particularly problematic in network monitoring scenarios where Wireshark is used to analyze traffic from multiple sources, as a single malicious packet can bring down the entire analysis system. The infinite loop condition consumes system resources and can potentially be exploited to exhaust available memory or CPU cycles, further amplifying the denial of service impact.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-129, which addresses improper validation of input boundaries, and represents a classic example of a buffer over-read or infinite loop condition that can be exploited for denial of service. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to the T1499.004 technique related to network denial of service attacks. The flaw demonstrates poor defensive programming practices where input validation is insufficient, allowing malformed data to cause unexpected behavior in the application. Organizations using Wireshark for network monitoring and security analysis should immediately update to version 1.12.9 or later to mitigate this risk. The fix implemented in the patched version includes proper argument validation and boundary checking within the AllJoyn dissector to prevent the infinite loop condition from occurring when processing malformed packets.