CVE-2015-8730 in Wireshark
Summary
by MITRE
epan/dissectors/packet-nbap.c in the NBAP dissector in Wireshark 1.12.x before 1.12.9 and 2.0.x before 2.0.1 does not validate the number of items, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (invalid read operation and application crash) via a crafted packet.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/23/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-8730 resides within the Network Basic Access Profile dissector of Wireshark, specifically in the packet-nbap.c file. This flaw affects versions 1.12.x prior to 1.12.9 and 2.0.x prior to 2.0.1, representing a critical denial of service vulnerability that can be exploited remotely. The issue manifests when the dissector fails to properly validate the number of items contained within NBAP protocol packets, creating a condition where maliciously crafted packets can trigger unexpected behavior in the network analysis tool.
The technical flaw stems from inadequate input validation within the NBAP dissector implementation, which processes packets belonging to the Network Basic Access Profile protocol used in telecommunications networks. When Wireshark encounters a crafted packet with malformed item count values, the dissector attempts to process these invalid values without proper bounds checking or validation mechanisms. This leads to an invalid read operation where the application attempts to access memory locations that are either uninitialized, unallocated, or otherwise inaccessible, ultimately resulting in an application crash that terminates the Wireshark process.
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 malicious packets to a system running vulnerable Wireshark versions can remotely trigger a denial of service condition, effectively disrupting network monitoring and analysis activities. The impact extends beyond simple service interruption as it can compromise the integrity of ongoing network investigations, potentially causing analysts to lose critical traffic data or forcing them to restart their analysis sessions. This vulnerability particularly affects environments where Wireshark is used for continuous network monitoring or during incident response activities where uninterrupted analysis is crucial.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-129, which addresses insufficient validation of length of input buffers, and can be categorized under ATT&CK technique T1499.001 for Network Denial of Service. Organizations using vulnerable Wireshark versions should immediately implement mitigations including updating to patched versions 1.12.9 or 2.0.1, respectively, and implementing network segmentation to limit exposure. Additionally, network administrators should consider deploying intrusion detection systems that can identify and block malicious NBAP traffic patterns, while security teams should establish incident response procedures to handle potential exploitation attempts. The patch for this vulnerability specifically addresses the missing validation logic in the NBAP dissector, ensuring that item count values are properly validated before processing, thereby preventing the invalid memory access conditions that led to the application crashes.