CVE-2016-4078 in Wireshark
Summary
by MITRE
The IEEE 802.11 dissector in Wireshark 1.12.x before 1.12.11 and 2.0.x before 2.0.3 does not properly restrict element lists, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (deep recursion and application crash) via a crafted packet, related to epan/dissectors/packet-capwap.c and epan/dissectors/packet-ieee80211.c.
VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/26/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-4078 represents a critical denial of service weakness in Wireshark's IEEE 802.11 protocol dissector implementation. This flaw affects versions of Wireshark prior to 1.12.11 and 2.0.3, specifically targeting the packet-capwap.c and packet-ieee80211.c dissector files. The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of element lists within the IEEE 802.11 protocol parsing logic, creating an avenue for malicious actors to exploit recursive parsing behaviors that can lead to application instability and complete system crashes.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability relies on crafting specially malformed network packets that contain malformed element lists within the IEEE 802.11 protocol structure. When Wireshark attempts to dissect these crafted packets, the dissector enters into deep recursive parsing operations without proper bounds checking or termination conditions. This recursive behavior consumes excessive system resources including CPU cycles and memory allocation, ultimately leading to application hang or crash. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it can be triggered remotely through network traffic capture, making it exploitable in network monitoring and analysis scenarios where Wireshark is deployed to process live traffic.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates significant risk for network security professionals who rely on Wireshark for network analysis and troubleshooting. Attackers can leverage this weakness to disrupt network monitoring operations by sending malicious packets that cause Wireshark to crash, thereby compromising the availability of network analysis tools. The impact extends beyond simple application crashes as it can potentially interrupt ongoing network investigations, compromise forensic data collection, and create operational gaps in network security monitoring. This vulnerability directly relates to CWE-674, which describes "Uncontrolled Recursion" in software implementations, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004 for network denial of service attacks.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2016-4078 involve immediate patching of affected Wireshark installations to versions 1.12.11 or 2.0.3 and later. Network administrators should implement network segmentation and monitoring to detect and prevent malicious packet injection attempts that could trigger this vulnerability. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing network access controls and intrusion detection systems that can identify anomalous packet patterns associated with this attack vector. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper input validation and recursion bounds checking in network protocol dissectors, emphasizing the need for robust defensive programming practices in security tools that process untrusted network data.