CVE-2023-0412 is a vulnerability identified in the Wireshark network protocol analyzer, specifically within the Transparent Inter-Process Communication (TIPC) dissector component. The flaw arises from uncontrolled recursion when parsing TIPC packets, which can cause the application to crash, resulting in a denial of service (DoS). Affected versions include Wireshark 3.6.0 through 3.6.10 and 4.0.0 through 4.0.2. The vulnerability can be triggered by processing crafted network packets or specially crafted capture files, which exploit the recursive parsing logic to exhaust stack or memory resources. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 6.3, indicating a medium severity level. The attack vector is network-based (AV:N), with low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required (PR:N), but requires user interaction (UI:R) to open a malicious capture file or receive crafted packets. The impact affects confidentiality, integrity, and availability to a limited degree, mainly causing application crashes and potential disruption of network monitoring activities. No public exploits or active exploitation campaigns have been reported to date. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-404 (Improper Resource Shutdown or Release), emphasizing the failure to handle recursion safely in the dissector code. Remediation involves upgrading to patched Wireshark versions 3.6.11 or 4.0.3 and later, which contain fixes to prevent uncontrolled recursion. Users are advised to avoid opening capture files from untrusted sources and to monitor network traffic for suspicious packets targeting TIPC protocols.

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2023-0412 is the potential denial of service on systems running vulnerable Wireshark versions. This can disrupt network analysis, incident response, and security monitoring activities, potentially delaying detection and mitigation of other threats. Organizations relying heavily on Wireshark for troubleshooting or forensic analysis may experience operational interruptions. While the vulnerability does not directly lead to data breaches or code execution, the loss of availability and potential integrity issues in network monitoring data could impair security posture. Critical infrastructure sectors, financial institutions, and government agencies in Europe that utilize Wireshark extensively are at higher risk of operational impact. Additionally, the requirement for user interaction to trigger the vulnerability means that social engineering or phishing campaigns could be used to deliver malicious capture files. The absence of known exploits reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the need for proactive mitigation, especially given Wireshark's widespread use in European IT environments.

1. Upgrade Wireshark to version 3.6.11, 4.0.3, or later, where the uncontrolled recursion issue in the TIPC dissector is fixed. 2. Avoid opening capture files from untrusted or unknown sources to prevent triggering the vulnerability via crafted files. 3. Implement strict network segmentation and firewall rules to limit exposure to crafted TIPC packets from untrusted networks. 4. Educate users and security analysts about the risks of opening suspicious capture files and enforce policies for validating file sources. 5. Monitor network traffic for anomalous TIPC protocol activity that could indicate attempts to exploit this vulnerability. 6. Consider deploying endpoint protection solutions that can detect abnormal Wireshark crashes or suspicious file handling. 7. Maintain an up-to-date inventory of Wireshark deployments across the organization to ensure timely patching. 8. Use sandbox environments to analyze unknown capture files before opening them in production Wireshark instances.