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VulnerabilityPublished

CVE-2026-96421: Wireshark · Improperly Controlled Sequential Memory Allocation

Affects WiresharkSource CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.5 Medium : upgrade to 4.6.9 or 4.4.19 when convenient.

Data as of 12 Nov 2026, 23:25 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score
5.5Medium
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.
EPSS
0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 3% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch
Available – fixed in 4.6.9, 4.4.19
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 29 Sep 2026

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponized: no evidence on record.

    No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB

  4. Exploited in the wild: no evidence on record.

    Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation

  5. Observed by OffSeq 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 13 Nov 2026.

What to do

Upgrade Wireshark and wireshark/wireshark to 4.6.9 or 4.4.19.

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
Wireshark FoundationWiresharkAffected
  • >=4.6.0 <4.6.9
Fixed in
  • 4.6.9
Wireshark FoundationWiresharkAffected
  • >=4.4.0 <4.4.19
Fixed in
  • 4.4.19
GitHubwireshark/wiresharkpkg:github/wireshark/wiresharkOther threatsAffected
  • >=4.4.0 <4.4.19
  • >=4.6.0 <4.6.9
Fixed in
  • 4.4.19
  • 4.6.9

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

AI-suggested

If you cannot patch yet, avoid processing untrusted USB HID protocol data within affected versions to reduce risk.

Description

CVE-2026-96421 is a medium severity vulnerability in Wireshark affecting versions 4.4.0 through 4.4.18 and 4.6.0 through 4.6.8. It involves an infinite loop and memory leak in the USB HID protocol dissector, which can lead to a denial of service condition. The vulnerability does not impact confidentiality or integrity but affects availability. No known exploits are reported in the wild.

References

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