CVE-2023-0411 is a vulnerability identified in Wireshark, a widely used network protocol analyzer developed by the Wireshark Foundation. The flaw exists in versions 3.6.0 through 3.6.10 and 4.0.0 through 4.0.2, where multiple dissectors contain excessive iteration loops (CWE-834). These loops can be triggered by processing specially crafted packets or capture files, leading to denial of service conditions by exhausting CPU resources or causing the application to hang. The vulnerability is exploitable remotely without requiring privileges, but it does require user interaction, such as opening a malicious capture file or receiving crafted network traffic that Wireshark processes. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 6.3 (medium), reflecting network attack vector, low attack complexity, no privileges required, but user interaction needed, and impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Although no known exploits have been reported in the wild, the vulnerability poses a risk to environments where Wireshark is used for real-time network monitoring or forensic analysis. The excessive iteration can degrade system performance or cause Wireshark to crash, potentially disrupting incident response and network troubleshooting activities. The vulnerability highlights the importance of validating and limiting input processing in protocol dissectors to prevent resource exhaustion attacks.

For European organizations, the primary impact is denial of service on systems running vulnerable Wireshark versions. This can disrupt network monitoring, incident response, and forensic investigations, potentially delaying detection and mitigation of other security incidents. Organizations relying heavily on Wireshark for operational security may experience reduced visibility into network traffic during an attack exploiting this vulnerability. While the confidentiality and integrity impacts are limited, availability degradation can affect security teams’ ability to respond promptly. Critical infrastructure operators, financial institutions, and large enterprises with dedicated security operations centers (SOCs) are particularly vulnerable to operational disruptions. Additionally, crafted capture files could be distributed via email or shared drives, increasing the risk of accidental exposure. The lack of known exploits reduces immediate risk, but the medium severity score and ease of triggering via user interaction warrant proactive mitigation.

1. Upgrade Wireshark to version 3.6.11 or 4.0.3 or later, where the vulnerability has been addressed. 2. Avoid opening capture files from untrusted or unknown sources to reduce risk of triggering excessive iteration loops. 3. Implement strict network segmentation and filtering to limit exposure to malicious packets that could exploit the vulnerability during live capture. 4. Educate security analysts and network engineers about the risks of opening suspicious capture files and encourage verification of file origins. 5. Use alternative or additional network analysis tools with robust input validation as a temporary measure until patches are applied. 6. Monitor network traffic for anomalies that could indicate attempts to exploit this vulnerability, such as unusual packet patterns or repeated crashes of Wireshark instances. 7. Employ endpoint protection solutions that can detect and block malicious capture files or suspicious network traffic patterns targeting Wireshark.