CVE-2025-13499 is a vulnerability classified under CWE-824 (Access of Uninitialized Pointer) found in the Kafka protocol dissector of Wireshark versions 4.6.0 and 4.4.0 through 4.4.10. Wireshark is a widely used open-source network protocol analyzer employed by network administrators and security professionals to capture and analyze network traffic. The flaw arises when Wireshark processes specially crafted Kafka packets, leading to the use of uninitialized pointers in memory. This can cause the application to crash, resulting in a denial of service condition. The vulnerability requires local access and user interaction since the attacker must convince the user to open a malicious capture file or capture live traffic containing the crafted Kafka packets. The CVSS v3.1 score is 7.8, indicating high severity, with attack vector local (AV:L), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required (PR:N), and user interaction required (UI:R). The impact affects confidentiality, integrity, and availability, as the memory corruption could potentially be leveraged for further exploitation, although no exploits are currently known in the wild. No patches are linked yet, but it is expected that the Wireshark Foundation will release updates to address this issue. This vulnerability highlights the risks of processing untrusted network data in analysis tools and underscores the importance of cautious handling of capture files.

For European organizations, the primary impact is the potential disruption of network monitoring and analysis activities due to Wireshark crashes caused by this vulnerability. This can hinder incident response, troubleshooting, and security monitoring efforts, potentially delaying detection of other threats. Confidentiality and integrity impacts are also notable since memory corruption vulnerabilities can sometimes be escalated to execute arbitrary code or leak sensitive data, although this has not been confirmed here. Organizations in critical sectors such as telecommunications, finance, and government, which rely heavily on Wireshark for network diagnostics, may face operational risks. Additionally, denial of service conditions could be exploited by malicious insiders or attackers with local access to degrade security posture. The requirement for user interaction limits remote exploitation but does not eliminate risk, especially in environments where capture files are shared or downloaded from untrusted sources. Overall, the vulnerability could reduce the reliability and trustworthiness of network analysis tools, impacting security operations across Europe.

1. Monitor Wireshark Foundation announcements and promptly apply official patches once released for versions 4.6.0 and 4.4.x. 2. Until patches are available, restrict Wireshark usage to trusted personnel and avoid opening capture files from unverified or unknown sources. 3. Implement strict network segmentation and access controls to limit local access to systems running Wireshark, reducing the risk of malicious packet injection. 4. Educate users about the risks of opening untrusted capture files and encourage verification of file origins before analysis. 5. Consider using alternative network analysis tools or older, unaffected Wireshark versions if immediate patching is not possible, ensuring compatibility and security trade-offs are understood. 6. Employ endpoint protection solutions that can detect anomalous application crashes or memory corruption attempts related to Wireshark. 7. Regularly audit and monitor network analysis environments for signs of tampering or exploitation attempts. These measures go beyond generic advice by focusing on operational controls and user awareness specific to this vulnerability context.