CVE-2023-4512Public exploit

Application crash via recursive CBOR byte-string parsing

Published Aug 24, 2023 · Updated Mar 27, 2026

Uncontrolled recursion in Wireshark 4.0.0 through 4.0.7 allows attackers to crash the application through malformed CBOR input. The dissect_cbor_byte_string() and dissect_cbor_text_string() paths recursively process nested indefinite-length strings without a depth limit until the stack overflows. A malformed injected packet or crafted capture file must be dissected, after which resource exhaustion or stack overflow terminates Wireshark or TShark.

CVSS severity7.5
High
EPSS probability0.51%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Uncontrolled recursion in Wireshark 4.0.0 through 4.0.7 allows attackers to crash the application through malformed CBOR input. The dissect_cbor_byte_string() and dissect_cbor_text_string() paths recursively process nested indefinite-length strings without a depth limit until the stack overflows. A malformed injected packet or crafted capture file must be dissected, after which resource exhaustion or stack overflow terminates Wireshark or TShark.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-4512
Published
Aug 24, 2023
Updated
Mar 27, 2026
Vendor
Wireshark Foundation
Product
Wireshark
Classifications
CWE-674, T1499.004
Attack vector
Unavailable
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 24, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Mar 27, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=4.0.0 <4.0.8

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorUnavailable in this record.
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Wireshark Foundation · Wiresharkversion=4.0.0 <4.0.8

Published CVSS scores

7.5NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
5.3GitLab Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
VectorUnavailable
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-674Uncontrolled Recursion
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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