CVE-2026-6525Public exploit

Application crash via malformed multi-link element

Published May 2, 2026 · Updated May 2, 2026

NULL pointer dereference in Wireshark 4.6.0 through 4.6.4 allows attackers to crash the application with malformed 802.11 data. The dissect_multi_link routine mishandles a multi-link information element in an 802.11 Authentication frame and dereferences a null pointer. A crash requires selecting a crafted frame in a trace or processing malformed traffic injected onto the wire, interrupting only the local Wireshark process.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.19%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

NULL pointer dereference in Wireshark 4.6.0 through 4.6.4 allows attackers to crash the application with malformed 802.11 data. The dissect_multi_link routine mishandles a multi-link information element in an 802.11 Authentication frame and dereferences a null pointer. A crash requires selecting a crafted frame in a trace or processing malformed traffic injected onto the wire, interrupting only the local Wireshark process.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-6525
Published
May 2, 2026
Updated
May 2, 2026
Vendor
Wireshark Foundation
Product
Wireshark
Classifications
CWE-476, T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 2, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 2, 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=4.6.0 <4.6.5

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Wireshark Foundation · Wiresharkversion=4.6.0 <4.6.5

Published CVSS scores

5.5GitLab Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

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.

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No observations available

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

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-476NULL Pointer Dereference
T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

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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