CVE-2026-76917 in Wireshark
Summary
by MITRE • 08/20/2026
Bluetooth AVRCP Profile protocol dissector crash in 4.6.0 to 4.6.7 and 4.4.0 to 4.4.18 allows denial of service
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/20/2026
The vulnerability identified involves a critical flaw within the Bluetooth Audio/Video Remote Control Profile AVRCP protocol dissector found in specific versions of network analysis software, specifically ranging from version 4.6.0 through 4.6.7 and from 4.4.0 through 4.4.18. This issue manifests as an application crash triggered by the processing of malformed or specially crafted Bluetooth AVRCP packets. The dissector, which is responsible for parsing and displaying protocol data within packet capture tools, fails to adequately validate input parameters before attempting memory operations or logical execution paths associated with handling these specific control commands. When a malicious actor transmits a packet containing invalid structures or unexpected field values that the parser does not anticipate, it leads to an unhandled exception resulting in the immediate termination of the application process. This represents a classic denial of service scenario where the availability of the security analysis tool is compromised without requiring any authentication or prior interaction beyond the reception of the malicious traffic on the network interface being monitored.
From a technical perspective, this flaw aligns with CWE-20 Improper Input Validation and potentially CWE-400 Uncontrolled Resource Consumption if the crash results from excessive resource allocation during parsing attempts. The root cause typically lies in missing boundary checks or type assertions when interpreting variable-length fields within the AVRCP protocol stack. In many cases, such vulnerabilities arise because developers assume that incoming data will conform to strict RFC specifications without implementing defensive programming practices to handle deviations gracefully. When the dissector encounters a packet where expected headers are truncated, lengths exceed buffer limits, or opcode values fall outside defined ranges, it may attempt to dereference null pointers or access out-of-bounds memory locations. This behavior is particularly dangerous in environments where security professionals rely on these tools for continuous monitoring and incident response, as an unexpected crash can disrupt ongoing investigations and leave gaps in visibility during critical periods of network activity analysis.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond the simple inconvenience of a crashed application. For organizations utilizing packet capture solutions to monitor Bluetooth traffic or conduct forensic analyses of wireless communications, the ability of an attacker to remotely trigger a denial of service against these tools undermines their defensive posture. An adversary aware of this weakness could deploy automated scripts to flood the monitoring station with malformed AVRCP packets, effectively blinding security teams to other malicious activities occurring on the same network segment. This creates a window of opportunity for further exploitation or data exfiltration that goes undetected due to the unavailability of the primary analysis instrument. Furthermore, in shared environments where multiple analysts use the same workstation, one user's exposure to such traffic could disrupt the workflows and productivity of others relying on stable tool performance.
Mitigation strategies primarily involve updating the affected software to a patched version released after 4.6.7 and 4.4.18, as these releases contain corrections for input validation logic within the AVRCP dissector. Until an upgrade is feasible, administrators should consider isolating monitoring stations from untrusted Bluetooth networks or restricting their exposure to known safe traffic sources. Additionally, implementing network segmentation to limit the visibility of potentially hostile wireless environments into critical analysis infrastructure can reduce risk. Security teams should also remain vigilant for similar patterns in other protocol dissectors within the same software suite, as input validation oversights often occur across multiple modules due to shared parsing libraries or inconsistent coding standards. Regular patch management and adherence to secure development lifecycle principles are essential to preventing such availability-focused vulnerabilities from impacting operational security capabilities.