CVE-2026-76891Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Service crash via dangling tap listener

Published Aug 19, 2026 · Updated Aug 20, 2026

Expired pointer dereference in sharkd in Wireshark before 4.6.8 and 4.4.18 allows attackers to crash the service via crafted input. In sharkd_session_process_tap(), sharkd registers a stack-local rtpstream_tapinfo_t as a global tap listener and several error returns exit before unregistering it, leaving a dangling pointer that later dereferences freed stack memory during tap reset. Reachability depends on how sharkd is exposed: the vendor describes malformed packets on the wire or crafted capture files, while the issue report demonstrates a crash through a sequence of crafted tap requests against sharkd.

CVSS severity3.1
Low
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

Expired pointer dereference in sharkd in Wireshark before 4.6.8 and 4.4.18 allows attackers to crash the service via crafted input. In sharkd_session_process_tap(), sharkd registers a stack-local rtpstream_tapinfo_t as a global tap listener and several error returns exit before unregistering it, leaving a dangling pointer that later dereferences freed stack memory during tap reset. Reachability depends on how sharkd is exposed: the vendor describes malformed packets on the wire or crafted capture files, while the issue report demonstrates a crash through a sequence of crafted tap requests against sharkd.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-76891
Published
Aug 19, 2026
Updated
Aug 20, 2026
Vendor
Wireshark Foundation
Product
Wireshark
Classifications
CWE-825, T1499.004
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 19, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 20, 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=4.4.0 <4.4.18
  2. Affected versionversion=4.6.0 <4.6.8

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Wireshark Foundation · Wiresharkversion=4.4.0 <4.4.18; version=4.6.0 <4.6.8

Published CVSS scores

3.1GitLabCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/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)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-825Expired Pointer Dereference
T1499.004Endpoint Denial of Service: Application 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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