VulnerabilityPublished 7 Jun 2023Updated 3 Nov 2025

CVE-2023-0668: Wireshark · Out-of-bounds Read

Affects WiresharkSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.5 Medium : upgrade to 4.0.6 when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 12:29 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

6.5Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 2.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 82% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 4.0.6

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: None
Availability: High

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: Required: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires a user to take some action before the vulnerability can be exploited.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 7 Jun 2023
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade wireshark/wireshark to 4.0.6.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
GitHubwireshark/wireshark`pkg:github/wireshark/wireshark`Other threats	Affected <4.0.6	Fixed in 4.0.6

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

Update Wireshark to the latest version as soon as a patch addressing CVE-2023-0668 is released by the Wireshark Foundation.
If you cannot patch yet, avoid opening untrusted or unauthenticated capture files, especially those containing IEEE-C37.118 protocol data.
Implement network segmentation and filtering to limit exposure of Wireshark analysis systems to untrusted network traffic that could contain malicious packets.
Use sandboxing or isolated virtual machines for running Wireshark to contain potential exploitation impact.
Educate network analysts and security teams about the risk of opening suspicious capture files and enforce strict file validation policies.
7. Employ endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools to detect anomalous behavior on analyst workstations that could indicate exploitation attempts. 8. For critical infrastructure operators using IEEE-C37.118, consider additional protocol-level filtering or validation to detect malformed packets before they reach analysis tools.

Description

Due to failure in validating the length provided by an attacker-crafted IEEE-C37.118 packet, Wireshark version 4.0.5 and prior, by default, is susceptible to a heap-based buffer overflow, and possibly code execution in the context of the process running Wireshark.

Impact

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2023-0668 lies in potential denial of service or compromise of systems running Wireshark, which is commonly used by network administrators, security analysts, and incident responders. Disruption of Wireshark can delay detection and response to network incidents, increasing organizational risk. In critical infrastructure sectors such as energy, where IEEE-C37.118 protocol is relevant, the risk is heightened as attackers could craft malicious packets to disrupt monitoring tools. Although no confidentiality or integrity impact is directly indicated, successful exploitation could allow code execution, potentially leading to broader system compromise if the analyst workstation is connected to sensitive networks. The requirement for user interaction limits remote exploitation but does not eliminate risk, especially in environments where untrusted capture files are opened or network traffic is analyzed without filtering. European entities with mature cybersecurity practices may mitigate risk by restricting Wireshark use and enforcing strict file handling policies, but smaller organizations or those in critical sectors may be more vulnerable. The medium severity rating suggests a moderate but non-trivial threat to operational continuity and security monitoring capabilities.

CWE-125Out-of-bounds Read (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessCWE Top 25 (2025): #8
The product reads data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.
Implementation · Input Validation
Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does.
Architecture and Design · Language Selection
Use a language that provides appropriate memory abstractions.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.3 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Overread Buffers (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 4 Nov 2025, 00:07 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-125

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats