CVE-2018-14369 in Wireshark
Summary
by MITRE
In Wireshark 2.6.0 to 2.6.1, 2.4.0 to 2.4.7, and 2.2.0 to 2.2.15, the HTTP2 dissector could crash. This was addressed in epan/dissectors/packet-http2.c by verifying that header data was found before proceeding to header decompression.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/18/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-14369 represents a critical denial of service flaw within Wireshark's HTTP/2 protocol dissector implementation. This issue affected multiple versions of the popular network protocol analyzer, specifically targeting releases from 2.6.0 through 2.6.1, 2.4.0 through 2.4.7, and 2.2.0 through 2.2.15. The flaw manifested as a potential crash condition that could be triggered during the analysis of HTTP/2 network traffic, fundamentally undermining the stability and reliability of network forensic operations. The vulnerability was categorized under CWE-129, which addresses issues related to insufficient validation of length values, specifically highlighting the lack of proper bounds checking in the dissector's header processing logic.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability stemmed from inadequate input validation within the packet-http2.c file where the dissector failed to verify the presence of header data before attempting header decompression operations. When processing malformed or specially crafted HTTP/2 packets, the dissector would proceed to decompress header data without confirming that such data actually existed, leading to memory access violations and subsequent application crashes. This flaw exploited the fundamental principle of defensive programming by assuming the existence of valid data structures without proper validation checks, creating a condition where the dissector could attempt to operate on null or uninitialized memory regions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extended beyond simple application instability, presenting significant risks to network security analysts and forensic investigators who rely on Wireshark for critical network traffic analysis. An attacker could potentially exploit this vulnerability by crafting malicious HTTP/2 packets designed to trigger the crash condition, effectively causing the network analysis tool to become unavailable during critical investigations or security monitoring operations. This denial of service scenario could be particularly problematic in enterprise environments where network analysts depend on continuous monitoring capabilities, or during incident response activities where timely access to network data is essential. The vulnerability also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1490, which covers 'Inhibit System Recovery' through network service disruption, as the crash could prevent analysts from accessing critical network information during security events.
The remediation implemented by the Wireshark development team involved adding explicit validation checks to ensure that header data was present before proceeding with decompression operations. This fix directly addressed the underlying issue by incorporating proper bounds checking and data validation mechanisms within the dissector's processing logic. The solution follows security best practices outlined in the CWE guidelines for preventing buffer overflows and memory access violations by implementing defensive programming techniques. Organizations utilizing affected Wireshark versions should immediately implement the patch to prevent exploitation, as the vulnerability could be leveraged in various attack scenarios including network reconnaissance, service disruption, or as part of broader attack chains targeting network monitoring infrastructure. The fix demonstrates the importance of proper input validation in network protocol analysis tools, where malformed data could potentially be used to compromise the availability of critical security infrastructure.