CVE-2023-1992 in Wireshark
Summary
by MITRE • 04/13/2023
RPCoRDMA dissector crash in Wireshark 4.0.0 to 4.0.4 and 3.6.0 to 3.6.12 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-2023-1992 represents a critical denial of service flaw within Wireshark's RPCoRDMA dissector functionality. This issue affects multiple versions of the popular network protocol analyzer, specifically targeting releases from 4.0.0 through 4.0.4 and 3.6.0 through 3.6.12. The RPCoRDMA dissector is responsible for analyzing Remote Procedure Call over RDMA protocol traffic, which is commonly used in high-performance computing environments where data is transmitted directly between memory addresses of different computers without involving the operating system's kernel. The flaw manifests when Wireshark processes malformed or specially crafted packets that trigger an unexpected crash in the dissector component.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation within the RPCoRDMA protocol parsing logic. When Wireshark encounters specially crafted network packets or capture files containing malformed RPCoRDMA data structures, the dissector fails to properly handle the unexpected data formats, leading to memory corruption or access violations that ultimately cause the application to terminate abruptly. This behavior aligns with CWE-121, which describes heap-based buffer overflow conditions, and CWE-125, which covers out-of-bounds read vulnerabilities. The vulnerability can be exploited through two primary vectors: packet injection where an attacker sends malformed RPCoRDMA traffic to a victim running the affected Wireshark version, or by providing a maliciously crafted capture file that triggers the same crash behavior when opened by the application.
The operational impact of CVE-2023-1992 extends beyond simple application instability, as it can severely disrupt network analysis workflows and potentially provide an attack vector for more sophisticated adversaries. Network security professionals who rely on Wireshark for monitoring and troubleshooting may find their analysis tools become unavailable during critical incidents, particularly in environments where RDMA traffic is common such as data centers, high-performance computing clusters, or financial trading systems. The vulnerability affects both active network monitoring scenarios and passive packet capture analysis, making it particularly concerning for security operations centers where continuous monitoring is essential. According to ATT&CK framework category T1498, this vulnerability could enable a denial of service attack against network analysis infrastructure, while the technique T1070.004 related to indicator removal through manipulation of log files could also be leveraged by attackers to obscure their presence during exploitation attempts.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2023-1992 primarily focus on immediate version upgrades to patched releases of Wireshark. Users should promptly update to Wireshark 4.0.5 or 3.6.13, which contain the necessary fixes for the RPCoRDMA dissector crash. Network administrators should also implement additional protective measures such as limiting access to Wireshark instances, particularly in production environments where unauthorized users might attempt to inject malicious packets. The vulnerability can be partially mitigated through network segmentation and access controls that restrict who can inject or process network traffic that might contain RPCoRDMA data. Organizations should also consider implementing automated monitoring for Wireshark process stability and establish incident response procedures for handling application crashes. The fix implemented by the Wireshark development team addresses the root cause by adding proper bounds checking and input validation within the RPCoRDMA dissector, ensuring that malformed packets are handled gracefully rather than causing application termination. Security teams should also maintain updated vulnerability databases and conduct regular assessments of their network analysis tooling to identify and remediate similar issues across their infrastructure.