CVE-2016-6503 in Wireshark
Summary
by MITRE
The CORBA IDL dissectors in Wireshark 2.x before 2.0.5 on 64-bit Windows platforms do not properly interact with Visual C++ compiler options, 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 • 05/31/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-6503 affects Wireshark versions 2.x prior to 2.0.5 on 64-bit Windows platforms, specifically targeting the CORBA IDL dissectors within the network protocol analysis tool. This flaw represents a critical denial of service vulnerability that stems from improper interaction between Wireshark's dissectors and Visual C++ compiler optimizations. The issue manifests when processing specially crafted network packets that contain CORBA IDL data structures, leading to application instability and potential system crashes. The vulnerability is particularly concerning as it affects widely used network analysis tools deployed in enterprise environments where network monitoring and troubleshooting are essential functions.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in the interaction between Wireshark's CORBA IDL dissectors and specific Visual C++ compiler options that are employed during the build process on 64-bit Windows systems. When Wireshark processes network traffic containing malformed CORBA IDL structures, the dissection logic fails to properly handle memory management and data parsing operations. This misinteraction causes the application to encounter undefined behavior during packet processing, ultimately resulting in memory corruption that leads to application crashes. The vulnerability specifically impacts the way the dissectors handle complex data structures and pointer arithmetic, creating conditions where stack corruption or heap corruption can occur. This type of flaw falls under the CWE-121 category of Stack-based Buffer Overflow and CWE-122 category of Heap-based Buffer Overflow, representing classic memory safety issues that have been prevalent in network protocol analysis tools.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risks to network security operations and incident response capabilities. Security teams relying on Wireshark for network traffic analysis and forensic investigations could experience complete tool failures when processing traffic containing maliciously crafted CORBA IDL packets. The denial of service impact extends beyond simple application crashes, as network analysts may lose visibility into critical network communications during security incidents or troubleshooting activities. Attackers could exploit this vulnerability to disrupt network monitoring operations, potentially masking malicious activities or preventing legitimate security investigations from completing. The vulnerability also demonstrates how build environment configurations can introduce security flaws that are not immediately apparent during normal development cycles, highlighting the importance of thorough testing across different platform configurations and compiler settings. This issue aligns with ATT&CK technique T1046 for Network Service Scanning and T1498 for Network Denial of Service, as it enables adversaries to disrupt network monitoring capabilities and potentially interfere with security operations.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2016-6503 primarily focus on updating to the patched version of Wireshark 2.0.5 or later, which addresses the compiler interaction issues and implements proper memory handling within the CORBA IDL dissectors. Organizations should also consider implementing network segmentation and access controls to limit exposure to potentially malicious traffic, while maintaining regular patch management processes to ensure all network analysis tools remain current with security updates. Additional defensive measures include configuring network monitoring systems to filter or drop traffic containing suspicious CORBA IDL structures, implementing network intrusion detection systems that can identify and alert on malformed packet patterns, and conducting regular security assessments of network analysis tool configurations. The vulnerability underscores the importance of maintaining secure software development practices and thorough testing across different platform configurations, particularly for security tools that operate in production environments where reliability and stability are paramount for effective network security operations.