CVE-2018-9266 in Wireshark
Summary
by MITRE
In Wireshark 2.4.0 to 2.4.5 and 2.2.0 to 2.2.13, epan/dissectors/packet-isup.c has a memory leak.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/26/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-9266 represents a memory leak flaw discovered in Wireshark versions ranging from 2.4.0 through 2.4.5 and 2.2.0 through 2.2.13. This issue resides within the ISUP (ISDN User Part) dissector component of Wireshark's packet analysis framework, specifically in the packet-isup.c file. The memory leak occurs during the processing of signaling messages within the ISDN User Part protocol, which is commonly used in telecommunications networks for managing call setup and teardown procedures. The flaw manifests when Wireshark attempts to parse and dissect ISUP signaling messages, leading to improper memory management during the analysis process.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from inadequate memory deallocation within the ISUP dissector implementation. When Wireshark processes ISUP packets containing certain signaling message structures, the code fails to properly release allocated memory blocks after processing, resulting in memory leaks that accumulate over time. This memory consumption grows progressively with each analyzed ISUP packet, particularly affecting systems that process large volumes of telecommunications traffic. The flaw operates at the application layer within Wireshark's dissectors subsystem, where protocol-specific parsers are responsible for interpreting network traffic and presenting structured data to analysts. The memory leak specifically impacts the epan/dissectors/packet-isup.c module, which handles the interpretation of ISUP signaling messages used in telephony network management.
The operational impact of this memory leak vulnerability extends beyond simple resource consumption, potentially leading to system instability and performance degradation in network analysis environments. As the memory consumption increases, the affected Wireshark instance may experience reduced performance, eventual system slowdowns, or even application crashes when memory resources become exhausted. This vulnerability poses particular risk to network security professionals who rely on Wireshark for continuous network monitoring and analysis, as the cumulative memory consumption could compromise their ability to maintain effective surveillance of telecommunications networks. The leak is especially problematic in environments where large capture files containing extensive ISUP traffic are analyzed, as the memory consumption can grow exponentially with the volume of analyzed data. Organizations using Wireshark for network forensics, incident response, or continuous monitoring may experience significant operational disruptions due to this memory management issue.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-401, which specifically addresses improper management of memory allocation and deallocation, and represents a classic example of resource leak patterns that can be exploited to cause denial of service conditions. From an ATT&CK perspective, this vulnerability could be leveraged by adversaries to perform resource exhaustion attacks against network analysis systems, potentially disrupting security operations or causing system unavailability during critical network monitoring periods. The memory leak could be exploited in conjunction with other techniques to amplify the impact of network security incidents, particularly when combined with traffic injection or replay attacks targeting telecommunications protocols. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including updating to patched versions of Wireshark, monitoring system resource consumption during extended packet analysis sessions, and implementing memory monitoring tools to detect abnormal resource usage patterns. The recommended solution involves upgrading to Wireshark versions that contain the memory leak fix, typically found in versions following the affected release ranges, along with regular security patch management procedures to prevent similar issues from occurring in other network analysis tools and protocols.