Packet-analysis hang via USB HID loop wraparound
Published Sep 29, 2026 · Updated Sep 29, 2026
Denial of service in the USB HID dissector of Wireshark 4.4.0 through 4.4.18 and 4.6.0 through 4.6.8 allows attackers to hang packet analysis. In parse_report_descriptor(), an extended Usage Maximum of 0xFFFFFFFF makes a 32-bit inclusive loop counter wrap to zero while it continues appending entries to a memory array. Processing a crafted USB capture in the default configuration can leave Wireshark or TShark spinning and consuming memory until the process is terminated.
Summary
What happened
Denial of service in the USB HID dissector of Wireshark 4.4.0 through 4.4.18 and 4.6.0 through 4.6.8 allows attackers to hang packet analysis. In parse_report_descriptor(), an extended Usage Maximum of 0xFFFFFFFF makes a 32-bit inclusive loop counter wrap to zero while it continues appending entries to a memory array. Processing a crafted USB capture in the default configuration can leave Wireshark or TShark spinning and consuming memory until the process is terminated.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-96421
- Published
- Sep 29, 2026
- Updated
- Sep 29, 2026
- Vendor
- Wireshark Foundation
- Product
- Wireshark
- Classifications
- CWE-1325, T1499.004
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 29, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Sep 29, 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=4.4.0 <4.4.19
- Affected versionversion=4.6.0 <4.6.9
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
No CVSS assessment is available in this record.
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.
Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- Crafted USB HID capture proof of conceptproof of concept · demonstrated
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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