CVE-2022-3190 in Wireshark
Summary
by MITRE • 09/13/2022
Infinite loop in the F5 Ethernet Trailer protocol dissector in Wireshark 3.6.0 to 3.6.7 and 3.4.0 to 3.4.15 allows denial of service via packet injection or crafted capture file
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/10/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-3190 represents a critical denial of service flaw within Wireshark's packet analysis capabilities, specifically affecting the F5 Ethernet Trailer protocol dissector. This issue manifests as an infinite loop condition that can be triggered through either malicious packet injection or by processing a specially crafted capture file. The vulnerability exists in Wireshark versions ranging from 3.4.0 through 3.4.15 and 3.6.0 through 3.6.7, creating a substantial attack surface across multiple release branches. The F5 Ethernet Trailer protocol is a specialized network protocol used for load balancing and application delivery in enterprise environments, making this vulnerability particularly concerning for organizations that rely on Wireshark for network monitoring and security analysis.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in the improper handling of malformed F5 Ethernet Trailer protocol data within Wireshark's dissector engine. When Wireshark encounters a packet containing F5 Ethernet Trailer data that triggers the infinite loop condition, the dissector enters a state where it repeatedly processes the same data segment without making forward progress. This condition is classified as a CWE-835: Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition, where the loop termination logic fails to properly advance the processing state, causing the application to consume excessive CPU resources and eventually become unresponsive. The flaw demonstrates a classic example of inadequate input validation and error handling within protocol parsing components, as the dissector fails to properly validate the structure and length of F5 Ethernet Trailer data before attempting to process it.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption, as it can severely compromise network monitoring capabilities and security operations. When an attacker successfully triggers this infinite loop through crafted packet injection or malicious capture files, Wireshark becomes completely unresponsive, effectively rendering network analysis tools useless for network administrators and security analysts. This disruption can occur during critical network events such as security incident response, network troubleshooting, or routine monitoring activities, potentially masking actual network threats or preventing timely detection of security incidents. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1496: Resource Hijacking, where attackers can consume system resources to deny service to legitimate users. Organizations relying on Wireshark for network traffic analysis and security monitoring face significant operational risks, as this vulnerability can be exploited to disrupt network operations without requiring elevated privileges or specialized attack capabilities.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2022-3190 should prioritize immediate version updates to Wireshark 3.6.8 or 3.4.16, which contain the necessary patches to address the infinite loop condition. Network administrators should implement additional protective measures such as limiting packet capture scope to trusted networks and employing network segmentation to prevent untrusted traffic from reaching critical monitoring systems. The vulnerability highlights the importance of regular software updates and security patch management, as it demonstrates how protocol parsing flaws can be exploited to create denial of service conditions. Organizations should also consider implementing network-based intrusion detection systems that can detect and block malformed packets before they reach Wireshark processing components. This vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of input validation and proper error handling in network analysis tools, as the failure to properly validate protocol data can result in complete application compromise and service disruption. Security teams should conduct thorough testing of updated Wireshark versions in controlled environments before deployment to ensure that the patches effectively resolve the infinite loop condition without introducing new compatibility issues.