CVE-2016-4079 in Wireshark
Summary
by MITRE
epan/dissectors/packet-pktc.c in the PKTC dissector in Wireshark 1.12.x before 1.12.11 and 2.0.x before 2.0.3 does not verify BER identifiers, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (out-of-bounds write and application crash) via a crafted packet.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/26/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-4079 resides within the PKTC dissector component of Wireshark, specifically in the epan/dissectors/packet-pktc.c file. This flaw affects versions 1.12.x prior to 1.12.11 and 2.0.x prior to 2.0.3, representing a critical security issue that enables remote attackers to execute denial of service attacks through carefully crafted network packets. The vulnerability stems from inadequate validation of Basic Encoding Rules (BER) identifiers during packet processing, creating a scenario where malformed input can trigger unexpected application behavior.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the absence of proper bounds checking and validation within the BER identifier verification process. When Wireshark processes network traffic containing PKTC protocol data, the dissector fails to validate the structure and content of BER identifiers before attempting to access memory locations. This oversight creates an out-of-bounds write condition where attacker-controlled data can cause the application to write to memory locations outside the intended buffer boundaries, ultimately leading to application crashes and system instability. The flaw operates at the protocol decoding layer, making it particularly dangerous as it can be triggered simply by capturing and analyzing network traffic without requiring any special privileges or complex attack vectors.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risks to network monitoring and security analysis environments where Wireshark is deployed. Network administrators and security professionals who rely on Wireshark for traffic analysis may inadvertently trigger the denial of service condition when processing malicious packets, potentially disrupting critical network monitoring operations. The impact extends beyond simple application crashes to include potential data loss and service interruption in environments where continuous network monitoring is essential. This vulnerability particularly affects organizations using older versions of Wireshark in production environments, where patch management may be delayed or incomplete, leaving systems exposed to remote exploitation.
The vulnerability maps directly to CWE-121, which describes heap-based buffer overflow conditions, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.001 for network denial of service attacks. Organizations should implement immediate patch management procedures to upgrade to Wireshark versions 1.12.11 or 2.0.3 and later, which contain the necessary fixes for BER identifier validation. Additional mitigations include implementing network segmentation to limit exposure, deploying intrusion detection systems that can identify and block malicious packet patterns, and establishing monitoring procedures to detect unusual application behavior that might indicate exploitation attempts. Security teams should also consider implementing network traffic filtering rules that can prevent suspicious PKTC protocol traffic from reaching systems running vulnerable versions of Wireshark.