CVE-2023-1993VulnerabilityPublished 12 Apr 2023Updated 3 Nov 2025

CVE-2023-1993: Excessive iteration in Wireshark

Affects WiresharkSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.3 Medium : upgrade to 4.0.5 or 3.6.13 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: 4.0% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 90% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 4.0.5, 3.6.13

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 12 Apr 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 debian/wireshark to 4.0.5 or 3.6.13.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Debiandebian/wireshark`pkg:deb/debian/wireshark`Other threats	Affected <4.0.5 <3.6.13	Fixed in 4.0.5 3.6.13

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 version 3.6.13 or 4.0.5 or later once official patches are released by the Wireshark Foundation. 2. If you cannot patch yet, avoid opening capture files from untrusted or unknown sources. 3. Limit the use of Wireshark to trusted network environments and restrict access to capture files. 4. Employ network segmentation and filtering to reduce exposure to malicious LISP packets, especially from external or untrusted networks. 5. Educate users and analysts about the risk of opening suspicious capture files and encourage verification of file sources. 6. Monitor Wireshark usage logs and system performance for signs of excessive resource consumption that may indicate exploitation attempts. 7. Consider using alternative network analysis tools temporarily if patching is delayed and risk is high.

Description

LISP dissector large loop in Wireshark 4.0.0 to 4.0.4 and 3.6.0 to 3.6.12 allows denial of service via packet injection or crafted capture file

Impact

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2023-1993 is operational disruption due to denial of service of Wireshark, a widely used tool for network traffic analysis, troubleshooting, and security investigations. Organizations relying on Wireshark for real-time packet capture or forensic analysis may experience delays or inability to analyze network traffic if a crafted packet or capture file triggers the vulnerability. This can affect incident response times and network monitoring capabilities. While confidentiality and integrity impacts are low, availability degradation can hinder cybersecurity operations, especially in critical infrastructure sectors such as telecommunications, finance, and government. The risk is heightened in environments where untrusted capture files are opened or where network traffic from untrusted sources is analyzed. Since no known exploits are in the wild, the immediate threat is moderate, but the vulnerability should be addressed promptly to prevent potential future exploitation.

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 4 Nov 2025, 00:08 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-834

Technical details

References

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