CVE-2024-0209: Denial of Service Vulnerability in Wireshark

Overview

The CVE-2024-0209 is a high-risk vulnerability that primarily targets Wireshark, a widely-used network protocol analyzer. This vulnerability affects versions 4.2.0, 4.0.0 to 4.0.11, and 3.6.0 to 3.6.19 of the software, enabling attackers to cause a denial of service (DoS) via packet injection or a specifically crafted capture file. Given the extensive use of Wireshark in various industries, including cybersecurity, telecommunications, and IT, this vulnerability poses a significant threat that could potentially compromise systems or lead to data leakage.

Vulnerability Summary

CVE ID: CVE-2024-0209
Severity: High (7.8 CVSS)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: Denial of service, potential system compromise, and data leakage

Affected Products

Product | Affected Versions

Wireshark | 4.2.0
Wireshark | 4.0.0 to 4.0.11
Wireshark | 3.6.0 to 3.6.19

How the Exploit Works

The CVE-2024-0209 exploits a weakness in the IEEE 1609.2 dissector of Wireshark. An attacker can craft a specific network packet or capture file that when processed by the vulnerable versions of Wireshark can cause the software to crash. As Wireshark is often used for network troubleshooting and analysis, this crash can lead to a denial of service, disrupting the network operations. Furthermore, an attacker may potentially use this vulnerability to compromise the system running the Wireshark software or leak sensitive data.

Conceptual Example Code

The following conceptual code demonstrates how a malicious network packet might be constructed to exploit this vulnerability:

POST /vulnerable/wireshark HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Content-Type: application/wireshark-capture
{ "malicious_packet": "... crafted packet data ..." }

In this conceptual example, the “malicious_packet” contains the specifically crafted packet data that would exploit the vulnerability in the IEEE 1609.2 dissector, causing a crash in the Wireshark software. The actual content of the malicious packet would depend on the specific details of the vulnerability.

Mitigation

Users of vulnerable versions of Wireshark are strongly encouraged to apply the vendor-provided patch to mitigate this vulnerability. In cases where immediate patching is not possible, using a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can provide temporary mitigation by blocking or alerting on malicious network packets. However, these are interim solutions and updating to a patched version of Wireshark is the recommended course of action to fully resolve this vulnerability.