CVE-2026-15163
Description
A flaw was found in Wireshark. A local user could trigger multiple protocol dissector infinite loops by providing specially crafted network traffic for analysis. This could lead to a Denial of Service (DoS) condition, making the application unresponsive.
Statement
This Moderate impact flaw in Wireshark allows a local attacker to trigger multiple protocol dissector infinite loops, leading to a denial of service. Exploitation requires a local user to open and analyze specially crafted network traffic, limiting the attack vector to interactive use cases rather than automated or remote exploitation.
Mitigation
To mitigate this issue, users should avoid analyzing untrusted or suspicious network capture files with Wireshark. Exercise caution when opening network traffic from unknown sources to prevent triggering the denial of service condition.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 5.5 | 7.5 | 5.5 |
| Attack Vector | Local | Network | Local |
| Attack Complexity | Low | Low | Low |
| Privileges Required | None | None | None |
| User Interaction | Required | None | Required |
| Scope | Unchanged | Unchanged | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | None | None | None |
| Integrity Impact | None | None | None |
| Availability Impact | High | High | High |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
NVD: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Resource Consumption (CPU); DoS: Resource Consumption (Memory); DoS: Amplification
An infinite loop will cause unexpected consumption of resources, such as CPU cycles or memory. The software's operation may slow down, or cause a long time to respond.
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