CVE-2018-9260 in Wireshark
Summary
by MITRE
In Wireshark 2.4.0 to 2.4.5 and 2.2.0 to 2.2.13, the IEEE 802.15.4 dissector could crash. This was addressed in epan/dissectors/packet-ieee802154.c by ensuring that an allocation step occurs.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/26/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-9260 represents a critical denial of service flaw within Wireshark's IEEE 802.15.4 protocol dissector. This issue affected multiple versions of the popular network protocol analyzer, specifically targeting releases from 2.4.0 through 2.4.5 and 2.2.0 through 2.2.13. The flaw manifested as a potential crash condition that could be triggered when processing specially crafted IEEE 802.15.4 network traffic packets, thereby compromising the stability and reliability of network analysis operations.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability stems from inadequate memory allocation handling within the packet dissection logic for IEEE 802.15.4 wireless personal area network protocols. The IEEE 802.15.4 standard governs low-rate wireless personal area networks commonly used in IoT devices and sensor networks, making this a significant concern for network security professionals who analyze such traffic. The dissector's failure to properly validate allocation steps during packet processing created a condition where malformed or unexpected packet structures could lead to memory corruption and subsequent application crashes.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses substantial risks to network analysts and security professionals who rely on Wireshark for network monitoring and forensic analysis. An attacker capable of crafting malicious IEEE 802.15.4 packets could potentially disrupt network analysis operations by causing Wireshark to crash, effectively preventing legitimate network traffic analysis. This could be particularly problematic in environments where continuous monitoring is required, such as security operations centers or network forensic investigations. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-129, which addresses issues related to insufficient validation of length fields, and represents a classic example of improper input validation leading to memory safety issues.
The mitigation implemented by the Wireshark development team involved modifying the epan/dissectors/packet-ieee802154.c file to ensure proper allocation steps occur before processing IEEE 802.15.4 packets. This fix addresses the core issue by implementing robust memory management practices that prevent buffer overflows and allocation failures during packet dissection. The solution demonstrates adherence to secure coding practices and follows the principles outlined in the ATT&CK framework's defensive techniques for preventing memory corruption vulnerabilities. Network administrators should immediately update to patched versions of Wireshark to eliminate this risk, as the vulnerability could be exploited in environments where wireless network traffic analysis is performed. The fix represents a straightforward but critical improvement to the application's memory safety mechanisms, ensuring that legitimate IEEE 802.15.4 protocol analysis can continue without interruption from malformed packet structures.