CVE-2023-0417 in Wireshark
Summary
by MITRE • 01/26/2023
Memory leak in the NFS dissector in Wireshark 4.0.0 to 4.0.2 and 3.6.0 to 3.6.10 and allows denial of service via packet injection or crafted capture file
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/07/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-0417 represents a critical memory leak flaw within the Network File System (NFS) dissector component of Wireshark, affecting versions ranging from 3.6.0 through 3.6.10 and 4.0.0 through 4.0.2. This memory leak occurs during the processing of NFS protocol packets and can be exploited to cause denial of service conditions. The vulnerability stems from inadequate memory management within the dissector logic that handles NFS packet analysis, specifically when processing malformed or crafted NFS data structures. The flaw is particularly concerning because it can be triggered through two distinct attack vectors: packet injection directly into a network capture or by loading a maliciously crafted capture file into Wireshark. The memory leak manifests as the application failing to properly release allocated memory resources during the NFS packet processing cycle, leading to progressive memory consumption that eventually results in application instability or complete crash.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability resides in the NFS dissector's handling of specific NFS protocol structures that are processed during packet analysis. When Wireshark encounters NFS packets that contain malformed data or follow non-standard protocol sequences, the dissector enters a processing loop where memory allocations occur for parsing these structures. However, due to missing or inadequate error handling mechanisms, certain code paths fail to execute proper memory deallocation routines. This memory leak pattern is classified under CWE-401 as a failure to release memory resources, which directly contributes to memory exhaustion conditions. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it operates at the protocol dissector level, meaning that any user who opens a capture file containing malicious NFS packets or who is subjected to packet injection attacks will trigger the exploitable condition without requiring elevated privileges or special user interactions.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates significant risks for network security professionals and analysts who rely on Wireshark for network traffic analysis and forensic investigations. The denial of service condition can render Wireshark completely unusable, forcing analysts to restart the application and potentially lose valuable analysis data. In enterprise environments where network monitoring systems depend on Wireshark for protocol analysis, this vulnerability could lead to extended periods of network visibility loss during critical incidents or security events. The attack surface is broad since NFS is commonly used in enterprise environments for file sharing, and many network captures will contain NFS traffic that could be exploited. The vulnerability also presents challenges for automated network monitoring systems that may automatically process capture files or analyze network traffic in real-time without user intervention, as these systems could be silently crashed by maliciously crafted packets or files.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2023-0417 focus on immediate version updates to patched releases of Wireshark where the memory leak has been addressed through proper memory management implementation. Users should upgrade to Wireshark versions 3.6.11 or 4.0.3 and later, which contain the necessary fixes for the NFS dissector memory leak. Network administrators should implement network monitoring to detect and prevent injection of malformed NFS packets that could trigger the vulnerability, particularly in environments where untrusted users might have access to network monitoring tools. The mitigation approach aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.001 for resource exhaustion attacks, as the vulnerability creates a condition where system resources are consumed to the point of service disruption. Organizations should also consider implementing capture file validation mechanisms to prevent automatic processing of untrusted capture files, and establish incident response procedures for handling potential exploitation attempts. Additionally, network segmentation and access controls should be implemented to limit the exposure of systems running Wireshark to potentially malicious network traffic, reducing the attack surface for this particular vulnerability.