CVE-2018-7334 in Wireshark
Summary
by MITRE
In Wireshark 2.4.0 to 2.4.4 and 2.2.0 to 2.2.12, the UMTS MAC dissector could crash. This was addressed in epan/dissectors/packet-umts_mac.c by rejecting a certain reserved value.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/10/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-7334 represents a critical denial of service flaw within Wireshark's network protocol analysis capabilities. This issue affects specific versions of the popular network traffic analyzer, namely Wireshark 2.4.0 through 2.4.4 and 2.2.0 through 2.2.12, where the UMTS MAC dissector component exhibits unstable behavior when processing certain malformed network packets. The UMTS MAC dissector is responsible for interpreting and displaying the UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) Medium Access Control layer information within captured network traffic, which is essential for telecommunications network analysis and troubleshooting.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation within the packet-umts_mac.c file, specifically in how the dissector handles reserved field values within the UMTS MAC protocol structure. When encountering a particular reserved value that should not appear in normal network traffic, the dissector fails to properly validate this input before attempting to process it, leading to an abrupt program termination or crash. This represents a classic buffer over-read or invalid memory access condition that violates the fundamental principles of defensive programming and input sanitization. The flaw aligns with CWE-129, which addresses improper validation of array indices, and CWE-704, concerning incorrect type conversion or cast operations that can lead to memory corruption.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption, as it can severely compromise network analysis operations for security professionals, network administrators, and telecommunications engineers who rely on Wireshark for critical infrastructure monitoring. When an attacker or malicious actor crafts and injects a specially formatted UMTS MAC packet containing the problematic reserved value, they can trigger a denial of service condition that forces Wireshark to crash, effectively rendering the network analysis tool unusable for the duration of the attack. This vulnerability particularly affects environments where Wireshark is deployed for continuous network monitoring, incident response, or security auditing, as it can be exploited to disrupt critical network analysis workflows. The attack surface is further expanded when considering that this vulnerability could be leveraged in automated attack scenarios where multiple network analysis tools are being targeted simultaneously.
The mitigation strategy for CVE-2018-7334 involves applying the official patch released by the Wireshark development team, which implements proper input validation in the packet-umts_mac.c file to reject the problematic reserved value before it can cause the dissector to crash. This fix represents a fundamental defensive programming approach that aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.001, which addresses the exploitation of software vulnerabilities through input validation bypasses. Network administrators and security teams should prioritize updating their Wireshark installations to versions that contain this patch, as the vulnerability remains exploitable in affected versions. Additionally, implementing network segmentation and access controls to limit who can inject malicious packets into monitored networks can serve as a supplementary defensive measure, though the primary resolution must come from applying the patched software version. Organizations should also consider implementing network anomaly detection systems that can identify and alert on unusual packet patterns that might indicate attempts to exploit this or similar vulnerabilities.