CVE-2025-11626 is a vulnerability identified in the Wireshark network protocol analyzer, specifically affecting versions 4.2.0 through 4.2.13 and 4.4.0 through 4.4.9. The issue arises from the MONGO protocol dissector component, which contains a loop with an unreachable exit condition, classified under CWE-835 (Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition). When Wireshark processes specially crafted MONGO protocol packets, it enters an infinite loop, causing the application to become unresponsive and effectively resulting in a denial of service (DoS). This vulnerability does not require privileges beyond local user access and necessitates user interaction, such as opening a malicious capture file or analyzing live traffic containing the exploit payload. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 5.5, indicating medium severity, with the vector AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H, meaning the attack requires local access, low complexity, no privileges, user interaction, unchanged scope, no impact on confidentiality or integrity, but high impact on availability. No public exploits are known at this time, and no patches have been linked yet, indicating that remediation may be pending. Wireshark is widely used by network administrators, security analysts, and IT professionals for traffic inspection and troubleshooting, making this vulnerability relevant in environments where Wireshark is deployed for monitoring MongoDB-related network traffic. The infinite loop can disrupt analysis workflows and potentially delay incident response or network troubleshooting activities.

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2025-11626 is operational disruption due to denial of service in Wireshark instances used for network monitoring and analysis. This can delay detection and response to network incidents, reduce visibility into network traffic, and impair forensic investigations. Organizations relying on Wireshark for real-time traffic analysis or security monitoring may experience temporary loss of monitoring capabilities, which could increase exposure to other threats. Since the vulnerability does not compromise confidentiality or integrity, the risk is limited to availability. However, in critical infrastructure sectors such as finance, telecommunications, and government, even temporary loss of network analysis tools can have cascading effects on security posture and operational continuity. The requirement for local access and user interaction limits remote exploitation, reducing the risk of widespread automated attacks. Nonetheless, insider threats or targeted attacks could leverage this vulnerability to disrupt security operations.

To mitigate CVE-2025-11626, European organizations should: 1) Monitor Wireshark Foundation announcements and promptly apply patches once released to address the infinite loop in the MONGO dissector. 2) Until patches are available, avoid opening untrusted or suspicious capture files containing MONGO protocol traffic in affected Wireshark versions. 3) Restrict Wireshark usage to trusted personnel and environments to minimize exposure to crafted malicious packets. 4) Consider disabling or removing the MONGO protocol dissector if feasible, or use alternative tools for MongoDB traffic analysis. 5) Implement strict network segmentation and monitoring to detect anomalous MongoDB traffic that could be used to trigger the vulnerability. 6) Educate users about the risk of opening unknown capture files and enforce policies to prevent execution of unverified network captures. 7) Maintain up-to-date backups and incident response plans to quickly recover from potential disruptions. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on protocol-specific controls and operational practices tailored to Wireshark usage scenarios.