CVE-2026-3202 in Wireshark
Summary
by MITRE • 02/25/2026
NTS-KE protocol dissector crash in Wireshark 4.6.0 to 4.6.3 allows denial of service
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/02/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2026-3202 represents a critical denial of service weakness within Wireshark's network protocol analysis capabilities. This flaw specifically affects the NTS-KE protocol dissector, which is responsible for interpreting and displaying Network Time Security Key Exchange protocol traffic within the Wireshark packet analysis framework. The issue manifests as a crash condition that can be triggered when analyzing specific network packets containing NTS-KE protocol data, potentially causing the entire Wireshark application to terminate unexpectedly during packet capture or analysis operations.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation within the NTS-KE dissector component of Wireshark's protocol analysis engine. When processing malformed or specially crafted NTS-KE protocol packets, the dissector fails to properly handle edge cases or unexpected data structures, leading to memory corruption or invalid pointer dereferences. This type of vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, which categorizes buffer overflow conditions, and CWE-125, which addresses out-of-bounds read errors. The crash occurs during the packet dissection phase when Wireshark attempts to parse the NTS-KE protocol fields, suggesting that the dissector lacks proper bounds checking mechanisms for handling variable-length protocol data.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple application instability, creating potential security and operational risks for network analysts and security professionals who rely on Wireshark for critical network monitoring and forensic activities. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by crafting malicious network traffic containing specially formatted NTS-KE protocol data and transmitting it to a victim running an affected version of Wireshark. This attack vector represents a classic denial of service scenario where the targeted system becomes unavailable for legitimate network analysis tasks. The vulnerability affects all versions of Wireshark from 4.6.0 through 4.6.3, creating a window of exposure where users may be vulnerable to remote exploitation through network traffic analysis activities.
From an adversary perspective, this vulnerability maps to several ATT&CK techniques including T1498, which covers network denial of service attacks, and T1566, which encompasses social engineering tactics that could be used to deliver malicious network traffic. The vulnerability's exploitation requires minimal technical sophistication, making it particularly dangerous as it could be leveraged by attackers with basic network knowledge. The crash behavior creates a potential information disclosure risk if the crash occurs during critical analysis operations, potentially causing loss of valuable network traffic data or analysis context. Security teams utilizing Wireshark for network monitoring, incident response, or security audits face significant operational disruption risks when this vulnerability exists in their tooling stack.
The recommended mitigations for this vulnerability include immediate upgrade to Wireshark version 4.6.4 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address the NTS-KE dissector crash condition. Organizations should also implement network segmentation and monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts targeting this vulnerability. Additionally, security professionals should consider implementing alternative packet analysis tools or maintaining multiple analysis environments to ensure continued operational capability during patch deployment cycles. Network administrators should monitor for unusual network traffic patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts and maintain regular vulnerability assessments to identify similar issues within their network analysis tooling infrastructure. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date network security tooling and the potential operational impact that seemingly minor protocol parsing issues can have on security operations.