CVE-2018-7336 in Wireshark
Summary
by MITRE
In Wireshark 2.4.0 to 2.4.4 and 2.2.0 to 2.2.12, the FCP protocol dissector could crash. This was addressed in epan/dissectors/packet-fcp.c by checking for a NULL pointer.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/10/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-7336 represents a critical denial of service flaw within Wireshark's FCP protocol dissector implementation. This issue affected versions ranging from 2.4.0 through 2.4.4 and 2.2.0 through 2.2.12, creating a significant risk for network forensic analysts and security professionals who rely on Wireshark for protocol analysis. The FCP protocol dissector is responsible for interpreting Fibre Channel Protocol traffic, which is commonly used in storage area networks and enterprise data center environments. When processing malformed or unexpected FCP packets, the dissector would encounter a NULL pointer dereference condition that resulted in application crash and termination.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-476, which describes NULL pointer dereference conditions that occur when a program attempts to access memory through a null pointer reference. The flaw specifically manifested in the epan/dissectors/packet-fcp.c source file where the dissector routine failed to properly validate pointer references before attempting to dereference them. This type of memory safety issue is particularly dangerous in network analysis tools because it can be exploited by malicious actors to disrupt network monitoring operations or cause cascading failures in security infrastructure. The vulnerability represents a classic example of improper input validation where the dissector did not adequately check for null or invalid pointer conditions before proceeding with packet processing operations.
The operational impact of CVE-2018-7336 extends beyond simple application crashes to potentially compromise network security monitoring capabilities. In enterprise environments where Wireshark serves as a primary tool for network traffic analysis and incident response, such a vulnerability could be exploited to disrupt critical network visibility operations. Attackers could craft malicious FCP packets designed to trigger the NULL pointer dereference, causing network analysts to lose visibility into storage network traffic during critical security incidents. This vulnerability also demonstrates the importance of robust input validation in protocol dissector implementations, as the dissector operates in a privileged mode where it processes potentially malicious network traffic from various sources. The issue affects both active network monitoring and offline packet analysis scenarios, making it particularly concerning for security operations centers and forensic investigations.
The remediation implemented for this vulnerability involved adding explicit NULL pointer checks within the packet-fcp.c dissector code, addressing the root cause of the issue through proper input validation techniques. This fix aligns with defensive programming practices recommended in the software security community and represents a standard approach to preventing NULL pointer dereference conditions. Organizations should prioritize updating their Wireshark installations to versions that contain this patch, as the vulnerability does not require special privileges or complex exploitation techniques to trigger. The fix demonstrates the importance of maintaining up-to-date network security tools and implementing proper software patch management processes. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability relates to T1046 Network Service Scanning and T1490 Indicator Removal on Host, as it could be used to disrupt network monitoring capabilities and potentially hide malicious network activity from detection systems. The vulnerability also highlights the broader category of software reliability issues that can affect security tool effectiveness, emphasizing the need for robust error handling in security applications.