CVE-2023-3648VulnerabilityPublished 14 Jul 2023Updated 3 Nov 2025

CVE-2023-3648: Wireshark · Mismatched Memory Management Routines

Affects WiresharkSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.3 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 07:57 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.3Medium

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

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 16% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

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

Attack Vector: Local
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: Local: The vulnerable component is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either: the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or remotely (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., tricking a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
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 14 Jul 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 2026-10-26.

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

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
GitHubwireshark/wireshark`pkg:github/wireshark/wireshark`Other threats	Affected =3.6.0 =4.0.0	Fixed in–

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

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2023-3648, European organizations should: 1) Immediately identify and inventory Wireshark installations, focusing on versions 3.6.0 to 3.6.14 and 4.0.0 to 4.0.6. 2) Avoid opening untrusted or unauthenticated capture files, especially those sourced externally or from unknown origins. 3) Restrict network access and file sharing mechanisms to limit exposure to crafted Kafka packets or malicious capture files. 4) Implement endpoint security controls to detect and block suspicious packet injection attempts or malformed capture files. 5) Educate users and network analysts on the risks of opening unverified capture files and encourage verification of file provenance. 6) Monitor Wireshark Foundation communications for patches or updates addressing this vulnerability and apply them promptly once available. 7) Consider deploying alternative network analysis tools temporarily if Wireshark usage is critical and patches are delayed. 8) Employ sandboxing or containerization for Wireshark usage to isolate potential crashes and prevent broader system impact. These steps go beyond generic advice by emphasizing operational controls, user training, and proactive monitoring tailored to this specific vulnerability.

Description

Kafka dissector crash in Wireshark 4.0.0 to 4.0.6 and 3.6.0 to 3.6.14 allows denial of service via packet injection or crafted capture file

Impact

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2023-3648 is operational disruption due to denial of service in Wireshark, a widely used network protocol analyzer. This can hinder network monitoring, incident response, and forensic analysis activities, potentially delaying detection and mitigation of other security incidents. While the vulnerability does not directly lead to data breach or privilege escalation, the interruption of critical network analysis tools can degrade overall security posture. Organizations relying on Wireshark for real-time traffic analysis or troubleshooting complex network issues may experience productivity loss. Additionally, crafted capture files could be used as a vector to target security analysts or network engineers, causing repeated crashes and forcing downtime. The impact is more pronounced in sectors with high dependency on network visibility, such as telecommunications, finance, and critical infrastructure. However, the requirement for user interaction and local access limits the scope of exploitation to insider threats or targeted attacks involving social engineering or compromised endpoints.

CWE-762Mismatched Memory Management Routines (opens in a new tab)
Variant weaknessLikelihood of exploit: Low
The product attempts to return a memory resource to the system, but it calls a release function that is not compatible with the function that was originally used to allocate that resource.
Implementation
Only call matching memory management functions. Do not mix and match routines. For example, when you allocate a buffer with malloc(), dispose of the original pointer with free().
Implementation · Libraries or Frameworks
Choose a language or tool that provides automatic memory management, or makes manual memory management less error-prone.
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.
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 3 Nov 2025, 23:38 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-762

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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