Process crash via unreleased BT SDP buffer
Published Aug 24, 2023 · Updated Mar 27, 2026
Memory leak in Wireshark's BT SDP dissector 3.6.0 through 3.6.15 and 4.0.0 through 4.0.7 allows attackers to crash the process. Recursive parsing in dissect_sdp_type grows a wmem string buffer from crafted SDP elements, leaving a roughly 2 MB allocation unreleased. No authentication is required for packet injection; the alternative path requires opening a crafted capture file, and the bounded consequence is memory exhaustion and a process crash.
Summary
What happened
Memory leak in Wireshark's BT SDP dissector 3.6.0 through 3.6.15 and 4.0.0 through 4.0.7 allows attackers to crash the process. Recursive parsing in dissect_sdp_type grows a wmem string buffer from crafted SDP elements, leaving a roughly 2 MB allocation unreleased. No authentication is required for packet injection; the alternative path requires opening a crafted capture file, and the bounded consequence is memory exhaustion and a process crash.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2023-4513
- Published
- Aug 24, 2023
- Updated
- Mar 27, 2026
- Vendor
- Wireshark Foundation
- Product
- Wireshark
- Classifications
- CWE-401, T1499.004
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 24, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- 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.
- Affected versionversion=3.6.0 <3.6.16
- Affected versionversion=4.0.0 <4.0.8
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- mem-leak-poc capture fileproof of concept · demonstrated
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
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