CVE-2016-5354 in Wireshark
Summary
by MITRE
The USB subsystem in Wireshark 1.12.x before 1.12.12 and 2.x before 2.0.4 mishandles class types, 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 • 09/13/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-5354 affects the USB subsystem within Wireshark network protocol analyzer versions 1.12.x prior to 1.12.12 and 2.x prior to 2.0.4. This issue represents a critical flaw in how the application processes USB packet data, specifically related to improper handling of class types within the USB protocol layer. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and sanitization mechanisms that fail to properly validate the class type field in USB packets, leading to potential buffer overflows or memory corruption scenarios when processing malformed USB traffic.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when a remote attacker crafts a malicious USB packet with specially formatted class type values that cause Wireshark to crash upon processing. This class type handling error creates a condition where the application's USB dissector fails to properly validate the incoming packet structure, resulting in an application crash that manifests as a denial of service. The flaw operates at the protocol parsing level where the USB dissector attempts to interpret class type values without adequate bounds checking or validation, allowing crafted inputs to trigger memory corruption conditions that ultimately lead to process termination.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risks to network monitoring and forensic analysis operations that rely on Wireshark for USB traffic inspection. Security analysts and network administrators who use Wireshark to monitor USB communications may inadvertently expose their systems to remote exploitation through malicious USB packets, potentially disrupting critical network monitoring activities. The denial of service impact extends beyond simple application crashes as it can compromise the integrity of ongoing network analysis sessions, forcing analysts to restart monitoring operations and potentially losing valuable forensic data.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, which describes stack-based buffer overflow conditions, and CWE-125, which covers out-of-bounds read errors, as the improper class type handling likely leads to memory access violations. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1059.007 for the execution of malicious network traffic and T1499.004 for the disruption of services through application crashes. The remote exploitation aspect of this vulnerability places it within the threat landscape of network-based attacks that leverage protocol parsing flaws to achieve system compromise.
Mitigation strategies should prioritize immediate patching of affected Wireshark installations to versions 1.12.12 or 2.0.4, which contain the necessary fixes for proper class type validation. Network administrators should implement additional monitoring for suspicious USB traffic patterns and consider network segmentation to limit exposure. The fix typically involves implementing proper input validation routines that check class type values against expected ranges and implementing defensive programming practices such as bounds checking and memory safety mechanisms to prevent the exploitation of similar vulnerabilities in other protocol dissectors.