CVE-2019-16319 in Wireshark
Summary
by MITRE
In Wireshark 3.0.0 to 3.0.3 and 2.6.0 to 2.6.10, the Gryphon dissector could go into an infinite loop. This was addressed in plugins/epan/gryphon/packet-gryphon.c by checking for a message length of zero.
Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/25/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-16319 represents a critical denial of service flaw within Wireshark's network protocol analysis capabilities. This issue affects specific versions of Wireshark including releases from 3.0.0 through 3.0.3 and 2.6.0 through 2.6.10, where the Gryphon dissector component exhibits problematic behavior that can lead to system resource exhaustion. The Gryphon protocol dissector is responsible for analyzing and decoding network traffic that follows the Gryphon communication protocol, which is commonly used in industrial control systems and embedded network environments. When processing malformed or specially crafted network packets, the dissector fails to properly validate message length parameters, creating a condition where the processing loop continues indefinitely without termination.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation within the packet-gryphon.c source file, specifically within the Gryphon dissector implementation. The flaw occurs when the dissector encounters a message with a length parameter of zero, which should logically indicate an empty or invalid message that should be rejected or handled gracefully. However, the original implementation failed to include a check for this condition, allowing the processing logic to enter an infinite loop where it continuously iterates through message parsing without advancing the packet analysis state. This condition can be triggered by sending specially crafted network packets that contain zero-length messages, causing the Wireshark application to consume excessive CPU resources and potentially become unresponsive to user interaction or further packet processing.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple resource exhaustion, as it can severely compromise network analysis operations and potentially provide an attack vector for malicious actors seeking to disrupt network monitoring activities. When an attacker successfully triggers this infinite loop condition, they can cause the Wireshark application to become unresponsive, effectively rendering the network analysis tool unusable for legitimate network monitoring and troubleshooting activities. This denial of service condition affects both network administrators and security analysts who rely on Wireshark for critical network traffic analysis, potentially creating windows of vulnerability where network issues cannot be properly diagnosed or investigated. The vulnerability is particularly concerning in environments where continuous network monitoring is essential, such as security operations centers or industrial control system environments where Wireshark is commonly deployed for protocol analysis and troubleshooting.
The fix implemented by the Wireshark development team addresses this vulnerability by introducing a critical validation check within the plugins/epan/gryphon/packet-gryphon.c file. This remediation involves adding a conditional statement that explicitly checks for message length parameters equal to zero and handles such cases appropriately rather than allowing the processing to continue in an infinite loop. This approach aligns with established security best practices for input validation and defensive programming as outlined in CWE-129, which addresses validation of array indices and other input parameters. The solution follows the principle of fail-fast design patterns where invalid input conditions are detected and handled immediately rather than allowing processing to continue with malformed data. This fix demonstrates the importance of proper input validation in protocol dissector implementations and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004, which covers network disruption through resource exhaustion attacks. Organizations should prioritize updating to patched versions of Wireshark to mitigate this vulnerability and ensure continued network analysis capabilities remain available for legitimate security operations and network troubleshooting activities.