CVE-2023-4513 is a vulnerability classified under CWE-401 (Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime) affecting the Bluetooth Service Discovery Protocol (SDP) dissector in Wireshark versions 3.6.0 through 3.6.15 and 4.0.0 through 4.0.7. The flaw manifests as a memory leak when processing crafted Bluetooth SDP packets or capture files, which do not properly release allocated memory after use. This can be exploited by an attacker who injects malicious packets into a network or provides a specially crafted capture file that, when opened by a user in Wireshark, causes the application to consume increasing amounts of memory. Over time, this resource exhaustion can lead to denial of service (DoS), causing Wireshark to crash or become unresponsive. The CVSS v3.1 score of 5.3 reflects a medium severity, with an attack vector of local (AV:L), low complexity (AC:L), no privileges required (PR:N), but requiring user interaction (UI:R). The impact affects confidentiality, integrity, and availability to a limited degree, primarily availability due to potential crashes. No patches were linked in the provided data, but users are advised to monitor Wireshark Foundation releases for fixes. No known exploits in the wild have been reported, reducing immediate risk but warranting proactive mitigation. This vulnerability is particularly relevant for organizations using Wireshark for network troubleshooting and security analysis, as it could disrupt these critical functions.

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2023-4513 is operational disruption due to denial of service in Wireshark, a widely used network protocol analyzer. Organizations relying on Wireshark for network monitoring, incident response, and forensic analysis may experience interruptions if malicious capture files or packets are introduced, either accidentally or deliberately. This could delay detection and response to other security incidents, indirectly increasing risk exposure. Confidentiality and integrity impacts are limited but possible if Wireshark crashes during analysis, potentially causing loss of volatile forensic data. The requirement for user interaction (opening a malicious capture file) limits remote exploitation but does not eliminate risk, especially in environments where untrusted capture files are shared or downloaded. The absence of known exploits in the wild reduces immediate threat but does not preclude targeted attacks, especially against critical infrastructure or government entities. Overall, the impact is moderate but significant in environments where Wireshark availability is critical.

1. Monitor Wireshark Foundation announcements and promptly apply patches once available for versions 3.6.x and 4.0.x. 2. Avoid opening capture files from untrusted or unknown sources; implement strict policies for handling external capture files. 3. Use sandboxing or isolated environments when analyzing suspicious capture files to contain potential memory leaks or crashes. 4. Limit network exposure of systems running Wireshark to reduce the risk of receiving crafted Bluetooth SDP packets. 5. Educate users and analysts about the risk of opening unverified capture files and encourage verification of file provenance. 6. Consider alternative tools or updated Wireshark versions that have addressed this vulnerability for critical analysis tasks. 7. Implement monitoring for abnormal memory usage on systems running Wireshark to detect potential exploitation attempts early.