CVE-2023-1161VulnerabilityPublished 6 Mar 2023Updated 3 Nov 2025

CVE-2023-1161: Wireshark · classic buffer overflow

Affects WiresharkSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.3 Medium : upgrade to 4.0.4 or 3.6.12 when convenient.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

6.3Medium

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

EPSS: 0.6% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 50% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 4.0.4, 3.6.12

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

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

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: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the impacted component.
Integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact on the impacted component.
Availability: Low: Performance is reduced or there are interruptions in resource availability. Even if repeated exploitation of the vulnerability is possible, the attacker does not have the ability to completely deny service to legitimate users. The resources in the impacted component are either partially available all of the time, or fully available only some of the time, but overall there is no direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 6 Mar 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 2026-10-25.

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 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 4.0.4 or 3.6.12.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
GitHubwireshark/wireshark`pkg:github/wireshark/wireshark`Other threats	Affected <3.6.12 <4.0.4	Fixed in 3.6.12 4.0.4

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

AI-suggested

1. Upgrade Wireshark to versions later than 3.6.11 or 4.0.3 where this vulnerability is patched. 2. Avoid opening capture files from untrusted or unknown sources to reduce risk of triggering the overflow. 3. Implement strict network segmentation and filtering to limit exposure to malicious ISO 15765 and ISO 10681 protocol traffic, especially from external or untrusted networks. 4. Use sandboxing or isolated environments for analyzing suspicious capture files to contain potential crashes. 5. Monitor Wireshark application logs and system stability to detect abnormal crashes that may indicate exploitation attempts. 6. Educate network analysts and incident responders about the risk and safe handling of capture files. 7. Employ endpoint protection solutions that can detect anomalous behavior or crashes in Wireshark processes. 8. Regularly review and update incident response procedures to handle potential denial of service scenarios affecting network analysis tools.

Description

ISO 15765 and ISO 10681 dissector crash in Wireshark 4.0.0 to 4.0.3 and 3.6.0 to 3.6.11 allows denial of service via packet injection or crafted capture file

Impact

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2023-1161 is the potential denial of service on Wireshark instances used for network traffic analysis, monitoring, and forensic investigations. This could delay detection and response to network incidents, affecting cybersecurity operations. While the vulnerability does not enable remote code execution or full system compromise, repeated crashes could degrade operational efficiency and cause temporary loss of visibility into network traffic. Organizations in sectors such as telecommunications, critical infrastructure, financial services, and government agencies that rely heavily on Wireshark for packet analysis may experience operational disruptions. Additionally, if attackers craft malicious capture files distributed internally or externally, unsuspecting analysts opening these files could trigger crashes. The confidentiality and integrity impacts are limited but not negligible, as crashes might expose partial memory contents or cause loss of captured data. Overall, the threat is moderate but warrants timely remediation to maintain robust network security posture.

CWE-120Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input ('Classic Buffer Overflow') (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #11
The product copies an input buffer to an output buffer without verifying that the size of the input buffer is less than the size of the output buffer.
Requirements · Language Selection
Use a language that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
Architecture and Design · Libraries or Frameworks
Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
Operation · Build and Compilation · Environment Hardening
Use automatic buffer overflow detection mechanisms that are offered by certain compilers or compiler extensions. Examples include: the Microsoft Visual Studio /GS flag, Fedora/Red Hat FORTIFY_SOURCE GCC flag, StackGuard, and ProPolice, which provide various mechanisms including canary-based detection and range/index…
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Docker Security (opens in a new tab)
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V5.4.1 (opens in a new tab)
V14.1.2 (opens in a new tab)
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Buffer Overflow via Environment Variables (opens in a new tab)
Overflow Buffers (opens in a new tab)
Client-side Injection-induced Buffer Overflow (opens in a new tab)
Filter Failure through Buffer Overflow (opens in a new tab)
MIME Conversion (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, 00:08 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-120

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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