CVE-2018-9269 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-giop.c has a memory leak.
Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/26/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-9269 represents a critical memory leak issue discovered in Wireshark versions ranging from 2.4.0 through 2.4.5 and 2.2.0 through 2.2.13. This flaw resides within the epan/dissectors/packet-giop.c file, which handles the decoding of General Inter-ORB Protocol messages used in distributed computing environments. The memory leak occurs during the processing of specific network packets that conform to the GIOP protocol standards, which are fundamental to CORBA (Common Object Request Broker Architecture) communications. This vulnerability specifically affects the packet dissection functionality that Wireshark employs to analyze and interpret network traffic, making it particularly dangerous for network security analysts who rely on the tool for monitoring and forensic analysis.
The technical implementation of this memory leak stems from improper memory management within the GIOP dissector component. When Wireshark processes certain malformed or specially crafted GIOP packets, the application fails to properly release allocated memory resources that were dynamically allocated during the packet analysis phase. This results in a gradual accumulation of memory consumption over time, particularly when analyzing network captures containing multiple affected packets. The flaw manifests as a failure in the memory deallocation routine that should occur after processing GIOP message structures, leaving allocated memory segments in the application's heap space. This type of vulnerability falls under CWE-401, which specifically addresses improper management of memory allocation and deallocation, and can be classified as a memory leak pattern that leads to resource exhaustion over extended periods of operation.
The operational impact of CVE-2018-9269 extends beyond simple performance degradation, presenting significant risks to network security operations and system stability. For network security professionals conducting long-term traffic analysis or continuous monitoring, this memory leak can cause Wireshark to consume increasingly more memory until system resources become exhausted, potentially leading to application crashes or system instability. Attackers could exploit this vulnerability by crafting specially designed network packets that trigger the memory leak, potentially causing denial of service conditions on systems running affected Wireshark versions. The vulnerability is particularly concerning in environments where Wireshark is used for continuous network monitoring, intrusion detection, or security auditing, as the gradual memory consumption could go unnoticed until critical system failures occur. This aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004, which covers resource exhaustion attacks targeting network monitoring tools, and demonstrates how seemingly benign network analysis tools can become vectors for system compromise.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-9269 require immediate action from affected organizations, with the most effective solution being the upgrade to Wireshark versions 2.4.6 or 2.2.14, which contain the necessary patches to address the memory leak issue. System administrators should also implement monitoring solutions to track memory consumption patterns in Wireshark processes, enabling early detection of potential exploitation attempts. Network security teams should consider implementing rate limiting or packet filtering rules that can prevent the transmission of malformed GIOP packets that trigger the vulnerability. Additionally, organizations should establish regular patch management procedures to ensure all network analysis tools remain up to date with the latest security fixes. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the importance of proper memory management in network protocol analysis tools and highlights the need for comprehensive testing of dissector components against various packet formats and edge cases, particularly in security-critical applications where resource exhaustion can have severe operational consequences.