CVE-2018-7320 in Wireshark
Summary
by MITRE
In Wireshark 2.4.0 to 2.4.4 and 2.2.0 to 2.2.12, the SIGCOMP protocol dissector could crash. This was addressed in epan/dissectors/packet-sigcomp.c by validating operand offsets.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/08/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-7320 represents a critical denial of service flaw within Wireshark's SIGCOMP protocol dissector component. This issue affected multiple versions of the popular network protocol analyzer, specifically targeting releases from 2.4.0 through 2.4.4 and 2.2.0 through 2.2.12. The SIGCOMP protocol dissector is responsible for decoding and analyzing compressed signaling messages used in various telecommunications applications, particularly in VoIP and IMS environments where compression techniques are essential for efficient data transmission. The flaw manifested as a potential crash condition that could be triggered by maliciously crafted protocol data units, making it a significant concern for network security professionals who rely on Wireshark for traffic analysis and forensic investigations.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation within the packet-sigcomp.c file, which is part of Wireshark's epan/dissectors directory structure. The dissector failed to properly validate operand offsets when processing compressed signaling messages, creating a scenario where malformed or specially crafted data could lead to memory access violations and subsequent application crashes. This type of vulnerability aligns with CWE-125: Out-of-bounds Read, which occurs when an application reads data past the end of a valid buffer, and CWE-787: Out-of-bounds Write, which involves writing data past the end of a buffer. The vulnerability operates at the protocol decoding layer, making it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited through normal network traffic analysis operations without requiring special privileges or authentication.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption, as it could compromise the integrity of network forensic investigations and security monitoring operations. Network administrators and security analysts who use Wireshark for real-time traffic analysis, incident response, or network troubleshooting could find their analysis tools becoming unresponsive or crashing when encountering maliciously crafted SIGCOMP protocol data. This creates a potential attack vector where adversaries could disrupt network monitoring capabilities by simply sending specially crafted packets that trigger the dissector crash. The vulnerability also impacts automated network analysis systems that rely on continuous Wireshark operation, potentially leading to extended downtime and loss of critical network visibility. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1070.004: Indicator Removal on Host and T1566.001: Phishing, as it could be leveraged to disrupt security operations or as part of a broader attack chain targeting network monitoring infrastructure.
The remediation implemented by the Wireshark development team involved strengthening the validation mechanisms within the packet-sigcomp.c file to properly handle operand offsets during protocol parsing. This fix ensures that all input data is validated before processing, preventing the memory access violations that previously led to application crashes. The solution demonstrates proper defensive programming practices that align with secure coding guidelines and helps prevent similar vulnerabilities in other protocol dissectors within the Wireshark codebase. Organizations should immediately update to patched versions of Wireshark to eliminate this risk, as the vulnerability does not require any special privileges to exploit and can be triggered by normal network traffic analysis operations. The fix also serves as a good example of how protocol dissector validation can be enhanced to prevent similar issues across different network analysis tools and platforms.