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Wireshark CVE-2026-95387

| EUVDEUVD-2026-88703 HIGH
Heap-based Buffer Overflow (CWE-122)
2026-09-29 GitLab GHSA-v28h-8438-ghj5
8.8
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Craft malicious SPDY capture file
  2. Exploit
    Analyst opens file in Wireshark
  3. Execution
    Trigger heap overflow in SPDY dissector
  4. Impact
    Wireshark process crashes (denial of service)

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Heap buffer bounds checking
MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique across 1 tactic: Execution

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Exploitation Conditions

Exploitation requires the victim to process attacker-controlled SPDY protocol data in an affected Wireshark build - either by opening a crafted capture file (.pcap/.pcapng) or by live-capturing crafted SPDY traffic while the SPDY dissector is active. Limiting factors: user interaction is mandatory (CVSS UI:R - an analyst must open or load the malicious capture), only Wireshark GUI/tshark versions 4.6.0-4.6.8 and 4.4.0-4.4.18 are affected (patched in 4.6.9 and 4.4.19), and the impact is confined to crashing the Wireshark process rather than system compromise. There is no server-side or unattended exposure.

Impact

The signals conflict and, on balance, point to a LOWER real-world priority than the headline 8.8 suggests. The input CVSS:3.1 vector claims full confidentiality and integrity impact (C:H/I:H/A:H), but the description explicitly scopes this to a 'dissector crash' causing 'denial of service' - a Wireshark SPDY parser crash is an availability-only event, so the C:H/I:H components appear overstated and the true impact is DoS of the analysis tool. EPSS is low (0.45%, 37th percentile) and the vulnerability is NOT in CISA KEV, indicating no evidence of widespread or active exploitation. SSVC reinforces a measured posture: exploitation is only 'poc' (not active), Automatable is 'no' (user interaction required to open a crafted capture, consistent with UI:R), though Technical Impact is rated 'total' which again conflicts with the DoS-only description. A public PoC exists, but exploiting it merely crashes an analyst's Wireshark instance rather than compromising a server. Net: this is a genuine but modest-severity client-side DoS, not a high-urgency network-exploitable breach - the 8.8 is likely CVSS inflation and should be verified against the Wireshark advisory, which typically rates such dissector crashes far lower.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker crafts a malicious packet capture (or live SPDY traffic) that triggers a heap buffer overflow in Wireshark's SPDY protocol dissector. When a security analyst opens the crafted .pcap/.pcapng file or captures the traffic in an affected Wireshark version, the dissector overflows the heap and crashes the application, denying the analyst use of the tool. A public proof-of-concept exists (SSVC exploitation status: poc).

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
Patch available 0.5% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv2 – Oct 08, 2026

Wireshark 4.6.0 through 4.6.8 and 4.4.0 through 4.4.18 can be crashed by processing attacker-controlled SPDY protocol data, an availability-only denial-of-service condition that our independent assessment scores as CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L. The signals conflict and, on balance, point to a LOWER real-world priority than the headline 8.8 suggests: exploitation requires the victim to open a crafted capture file or live-capture crafted SPDY traffic, publicly available exploit code exists, EPSS is only 0.45% (37th percentile), and there is no confirmed active exploitation (CISA KEV). Unauthenticated attackers can trigger the crash, but user interaction is mandatory and the impact is limited to terminating the Wireshark process, not code execution or data compromise.

Earlier versions of this analysis (1)
v1 Sep 29, 2026 - 10:07 CVSS 8.1

A heap-based buffer overflow in Wireshark's SPDY protocol dissector affects 4.6.0 through 4.6.8 and 4.4.0 through 4.4.18 and can crash the application when it processes crafted SPDY data, resulting in denial of service. No public exploit identified at time of analysis; exploitation requires the victim to open a malicious capture or capture live traffic containing the malformed SPDY frame, and no authentication is required (PR:N) though attack complexity is high (AC:H). The supplied CVSS 8.1 includes C:H/I:H/A:H, but independent assessment rates the impact as availability-only (C:N/I:N/A:H) because a client-side Wireshark crash does not expose or alter data.

RemediationAI

Upgrade to Wireshark 4.6.9 or 4.4.19, the vendor-released patch versions. If immediate upgrade is not possible, avoid opening untrusted .pcap/.pcapng files and avoid live-capturing SPDY traffic from untrusted sources, since the crash requires the dissector to process attacker-controlled SPDY data. As a compensating control, disable the SPDY dissector (Analyze > Enabled Protocols, uncheck SPDY) to remove the vulnerable parsing path, at the cost of losing SPDY protocol analysis; using tshark with SPDY disabled similarly reduces exposure. These workarounds do not protect against crash if the SPDY dissector is left enabled and malicious SPDY data is processed. Consult the vendor advisory at https://www.wireshark.org/security/wnpa-sec-2026-97.html for the authoritative fix guidance.

Affected VersionsENISA

Wireshark 4.6.0 <4.6.9
Wireshark 4.4.0 <4.4.19

Affected Packages

euvd wireshark fix: 4.4.19, 4.6.9

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 1 package in euvd

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

The affected component is the SPDY protocol dissector in Wireshark, the widely used network protocol analyzer. SPDY is a deprecated session-layer protocol that was a precursor to HTTP/2; Wireshark's dissector parses SPDY control and data frames from captured traffic. The root cause is CWE-122 (heap-based buffer overflow), which in a dissector typically arises when a length or frame field from the packet is trusted without adequate bounds validation before copying data into a heap buffer. An overflow in the dissector process can corrupt heap memory and crash Wireshark, yielding denial of service. The CPE cpe:2.3:a:wireshark_foundation:wireshark:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* identifies Wireshark Foundation Wireshark as the affected product, and EUVD-2026-88703 narrows the vulnerable releases to 4.6.0 through 4.6.8 and 4.4.0 through 4.4.18. Although the supplied CVE record shows a headline CVSS of 8.8 with C:H/I:H/A:H, our independent assessment, the description, and the absence of any integrity or confidentiality impact in practice align on availability-only (C:N/I:N/A:L); the crash requires UI:R because an analyst must open a malicious capture or run a live capture of malicious SPDY traffic, and there is no server-side or unattended exposure.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

Vendor (GitLab) PRIMARY HIGH
NVD 8.8 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
vuln.today AI 4.3 MEDIUM

A SPDY dissector crash is availability-only (C:N/I:N, A:L for the client app) and needs an analyst to open crafted traffic, so UI:R; AV:N/AC:L/PR:N retained.

3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
SUSE 8.1 HIGH
AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Red Hat 8.1 HIGH

Primary rating from Vendor (GitLab).

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Lifecycle Timeline

3
CVSS changed
Oct 08, 2026 - 01:37 NVD
8.1 (HIGH) 8.8 (HIGH)
Patch available
Sep 29, 2026 - 11:01 EUVD
CVE Published
Sep 29, 2026 - 09:33 cve.org
HIGH 8.1

DescriptionNVD

SPDY protocol dissector crash in 4.6.0 to 4.6.8 and 4.4.0 to 4.4.18 allows denial of service

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

Wireshark, a widely used network protocol analyzer, is affected by a high-severity denial-of-service vulnerability (CVE-2026-95387) in versions 4.6.0 through 4.6.8 and 4.4.0 through 4.4.18. An attacker can crash the application by enticing a user to open a crafted packet capture, but the impact is limited to terminating the Wireshark process-no data theft or code execution. Publicly available exploit code exists, but a vendor patch is available (Patch available per vendor advisory), so the organizational risk is primarily temporary disruption of network analysis workflows for security and IT teams.

Business Impact: Low
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.5%
Top 63% exploitable
Prevalence
High
Wireshark is the de facto network-analysis tool across most security teams
Data Quality
6 sources
Confidence: High

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.5%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision
Scheduled
Exploitation
Poc
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable
No
Human Impact
Low
Technical Impact
Total

Priority Score

44
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +44
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

A buffer overflow occurs when a program writes more data to a memory buffer than it was allocated to hold, causing the excess data to spill into adjacent memory regions.

A heap overflow occurs when a program writes data beyond the bounds of a buffer allocated in the heap memory region.

Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.

CVE-2014-2299 CRITICAL POC
9.3 Mar 11

Buffer overflow in the mpeg_read function in wiretap/mpeg.c in the MPEG parser in Wireshark 1.8.x before 1.8.13 and 1.10

CVE-2013-4074 MEDIUM POC
5.0 Jun 09

The dissect_capwap_data function in epan/dissectors/packet-capwap.c in the CAPWAP dissector in Wireshark 1.6.x before 1.

CVE-2018-6836 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Feb 08

The netmonrec_comment_destroy function in wiretap/netmon.c in Wireshark through 2.4.4 performs a free operation on an un

CVE-2014-4174 CRITICAL POC
9.3 Jun 18

wiretap/libpcap.c in the libpcap file parser in Wireshark 1.10.x before 1.10.4 allows remote attackers to execute arbitr

CVE-2017-9353 HIGH POC
7.5 Jun 02

In Wireshark 2.2.0 to 2.2.6, the IPv6 dissector could crash. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remot

CVE-2017-17085 HIGH POC
7.5 Dec 01

In Wireshark 2.4.0 to 2.4.2 and 2.2.0 to 2.2.10, the CIP Safety dissector could crash. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), t

CVE-2017-9347 HIGH POC
7.5 Jun 02

In Wireshark 2.2.0 to 2.2.6, the ROS dissector could crash with a NULL pointer dereference. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.

CVE-2025-5601 HIGH POC
7.8 Jun 04

A denial of service vulnerability in Column handling crashes in Wireshark 4.4.0 to 4.4.6 and 4.2.0 to 4.2.12 (CVSS 7.8)

CVE-2023-4513 HIGH POC
7.5 Aug 24

BT SDP dissector memory leak in Wireshark 4.0.0 to 4.0.7 and 3.6.0 to 3.6.15 allows denial of service via packet injecti

CVE-2023-4512 HIGH POC
7.5 Aug 24

CBOR dissector crash in Wireshark 4.0.0 to 4.0.6 allows denial of service via packet injection or crafted capture file.

CVE-2023-2879 HIGH POC
7.5 May 26

GDSDB infinite loop in Wireshark 4.0.0 to 4.0.5 and 3.6.0 to 3.6.13 allows denial of service via packet injection or cra

CVE-2023-1992 HIGH POC
7.5 Apr 12

RPCoRDMA dissector crash in Wireshark 4.0.0 to 4.0.4 and 3.6.0 to 3.6.12 allows denial of service via packet injection o

Vendor StatusVendor

SUSE

Severity: Important
Product Status
openSUSE Tumbleweed Fixed
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 12 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Desktop Applications 15 SP7 Affected

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