CVE-2026-3202 identifies a NULL pointer dereference vulnerability (CWE-476) in the Wireshark network protocol analyzer, specifically within the NTS-KE protocol dissector. This flaw affects Wireshark versions 4.6.0 through 4.6.3 and can be triggered when Wireshark processes malformed or maliciously crafted NTS-KE protocol packets. The dereference of a NULL pointer leads to a crash of the Wireshark application, causing a denial of service condition. The vulnerability has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 4.7, reflecting medium severity, with an attack vector limited to local access (AV:L), high attack complexity (AC:H), no privileges required (PR:N), and requiring user interaction (UI:R). The scope remains unchanged (S:U), and the impact affects availability only (A:H), with no impact on confidentiality or integrity. No patches or known exploits have been reported at the time of publication. The vulnerability arises from insufficient validation of protocol data before dereferencing pointers in the dissector code, a common issue in protocol parsers. This flaw could be exploited by an attacker who can induce a user to open a crafted capture file or receive malicious packets in a live capture session, causing Wireshark to crash and disrupt network analysis activities.

The primary impact of CVE-2026-3202 is denial of service through application crash, which affects the availability of Wireshark during network analysis or troubleshooting. For organizations that rely heavily on Wireshark for real-time packet inspection, incident response, or forensic analysis, this could delay detection and mitigation of network threats. Although the vulnerability does not compromise data confidentiality or integrity, the disruption of network monitoring tools can indirectly increase security risks by impairing visibility. The requirement for local access and user interaction limits remote exploitation, reducing the risk of widespread automated attacks. However, targeted attacks against security analysts or network administrators could leverage this flaw to hinder their operations. The absence of known exploits in the wild suggests limited current threat, but the vulnerability should be addressed proactively to prevent future exploitation. Overall, the impact is moderate but relevant for environments where Wireshark is critical for network security operations.

To mitigate CVE-2026-3202, organizations should implement the following specific measures: 1) Restrict Wireshark usage to trusted personnel and environments to reduce exposure to malicious capture files or packets. 2) Avoid opening untrusted or suspicious capture files, especially those containing NTS-KE protocol traffic. 3) Monitor network traffic for unusual NTS-KE protocol packets that could trigger the vulnerability. 4) Apply updates or patches from the Wireshark Foundation promptly once available for versions 4.6.0 to 4.6.3. 5) Consider using alternative versions or tools that do not include the vulnerable dissector if immediate patching is not possible. 6) Educate users about the risks of opening unknown capture files and the importance of verifying capture sources. 7) Employ sandboxing or containerization techniques to isolate Wireshark processes, limiting the impact of crashes. 8) Implement robust incident response plans to quickly recover from potential DoS events caused by this vulnerability. These targeted actions go beyond generic advice by focusing on controlling exposure to the specific protocol and usage scenarios involved.