CVE-2017-9354 in Wireshark
Summary
by MITRE
In Wireshark 2.2.0 to 2.2.6 and 2.0.0 to 2.0.12, the RGMP dissector could crash. This was addressed in epan/dissectors/packet-rgmp.c by validating an IPv4 address.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/07/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-9354 represents a critical denial of service flaw within Wireshark network protocol analyzer software. This issue affected versions ranging from 2.2.0 through 2.2.6 and 2.0.0 through 2.0.12, where the RGMP dissector component exhibited unstable behavior leading to application crashes. The RGMP protocol, or Resource Group Management Protocol, is used for managing multicast group memberships in network environments, making this vulnerability particularly concerning for network monitoring and analysis operations. The flaw specifically manifested when the dissector encountered malformed or unexpected IPv4 address data during packet analysis, causing the application to terminate unexpectedly and potentially disrupting network traffic monitoring activities.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability resides in insufficient input validation within the packet-rgmp.c file of Wireshark's dissection framework. The RGMP dissector failed to properly validate IPv4 address parameters before processing them, creating an opportunity for malformed data to trigger memory corruption or invalid memory access conditions. This type of vulnerability aligns with CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions, and CWE-787, which covers out-of-bounds write vulnerabilities. The lack of proper bounds checking and parameter validation in the dissector implementation allowed attackers to craft specially malformed RGMP packets that would cause the application to crash when attempting to parse these invalid address structures. The vulnerability essentially created a path where untrusted network data could directly influence the application's memory management, leading to process termination.
The operational impact of CVE-2017-9354 extends beyond simple application instability, as it represents a potential attack vector for disrupting network monitoring infrastructure. Network administrators relying on Wireshark for traffic analysis, troubleshooting, and security monitoring could find their analysis tools become unavailable when processing malicious or corrupted network traffic. This disruption could occur during critical network events such as security incident response, performance troubleshooting, or routine network maintenance activities. The vulnerability's exploitation requires minimal skill levels and can be accomplished through network packet crafting, making it particularly dangerous in environments where network traffic analysis tools are continuously running and processing untrusted data from multiple sources. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1059.007 for application layer execution and T1499.004 for network disruption, as it enables adversaries to cause service unavailability through protocol analysis tool manipulation.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2017-9354 primarily involve upgrading to patched versions of Wireshark where the RGMP dissector has been updated to properly validate IPv4 address parameters. The fix implemented in epan/dissectors/packet-rgmp.c specifically addresses the validation issue by ensuring that IPv4 addresses are properly checked before processing, preventing the crash condition from occurring. Network administrators should also implement additional security measures such as limiting the scope of network traffic that is analyzed by Wireshark, using network segmentation to isolate critical monitoring systems, and implementing network access controls to prevent unauthorized packet injection. Organizations should maintain updated network monitoring tools and regularly review their network analysis infrastructure for similar validation issues. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the importance of robust input validation in protocol dissectors and the potential for seemingly minor implementation flaws to create significant operational disruptions in network security tools.