CVE-2025-5601: Wireshark Column Handling DoS Vulnerability

CVE-2025-5601 Overview

CVE-2025-5601 is a denial of service vulnerability affecting Wireshark versions 4.4.0 to 4.4.6 and 4.2.0 to 4.2.12. The vulnerability exists in the column handling functionality of Wireshark, which can be triggered through packet injection on the network or by opening a specially crafted capture file. When exploited, this flaw causes the application to crash, disrupting network analysis operations and potentially impacting incident response and forensic activities that depend on Wireshark.

Critical Impact
Attackers can cause Wireshark to crash via malicious network packets or crafted capture files, disrupting network analysis and potentially impeding security investigations.

Affected Products

Wireshark versions 4.4.0 through 4.4.6
Wireshark versions 4.2.0 through 4.2.12

Discovery Timeline

June 4, 2025 - CVE-2025-5601 published to NVD
November 21, 2025 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-5601

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-120 (Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input) and CWE-787 (Out-of-Bounds Write). The issue resides in Wireshark's column handling code, which is responsible for processing and displaying packet information in the application's user interface. When processing certain malformed packets or capture files, the column handling routines fail to properly validate input boundaries, leading to memory corruption that causes the application to crash.

The vulnerability requires user interaction—specifically, a victim must either open a malicious capture file or be monitoring a network where an attacker can inject crafted packets. This makes it particularly concerning for security analysts who routinely analyze capture files from untrusted sources or monitor potentially hostile network environments.

Root Cause

The root cause stems from improper bounds checking in Wireshark's column handling code. When processing packet data for display in the column view, the application fails to adequately validate the size of input data before copying it to memory buffers. This results in buffer overflow conditions (CWE-120) and out-of-bounds write operations (CWE-787), ultimately causing memory corruption and application crashes.

Attack Vector

The attack vector for CVE-2025-5601 is network-based and can be exploited through two methods:

Packet Injection: An attacker on the same network segment can inject specially crafted packets that, when captured and processed by Wireshark, trigger the vulnerability in the column handling code.
Malicious Capture Files: An attacker can distribute a crafted pcap or pcapng file. When a victim opens this file in a vulnerable Wireshark version, the column handling code processes the malicious data and crashes.

The vulnerability does not require authentication but does require user interaction to trigger. Additional technical details are available in the GitLab Wireshark Issue tracking this vulnerability.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-5601

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected Wireshark application crashes during packet capture or file analysis
Crash dumps indicating memory corruption in column handling functions
Repeated application terminations when opening specific capture files
System logs showing Wireshark process failures with memory-related errors

Detection Strategies

Monitor for Wireshark process crashes and unexpected terminations across analyst workstations
Implement file integrity monitoring on capture files before analysis
Deploy endpoint detection to identify patterns of repeated application crashes
Review system event logs for signs of exploitation attempts against Wireshark installations

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable application crash reporting and centralize logs from systems running Wireshark
Monitor network traffic for unusual packet patterns that could indicate injection attempts
Track Wireshark version inventory across the organization to identify vulnerable installations
Implement SentinelOne endpoint protection to detect and respond to exploitation attempts

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-5601

Immediate Actions Required

Upgrade Wireshark to version 4.4.7 or later for the 4.4.x branch
Upgrade Wireshark to version 4.2.13 or later for the 4.2.x branch
Avoid opening capture files from untrusted sources until patched
Consider using isolated analysis environments for examining suspicious capture files

Patch Information

Wireshark has released security patches addressing this vulnerability. Detailed information is available in the Wireshark Security Advisory WNPA-SEC-2025-02. Organizations should prioritize updating all Wireshark installations to patched versions.

Workarounds

Analyze capture files in isolated virtual machines to contain potential crashes
Use TShark command-line tool with limited column output as an alternative for untrusted files
Implement network segmentation to limit exposure to packet injection attacks
Configure capture filters to exclude potentially malicious traffic patterns during live capture

bash

# Check current Wireshark version
wireshark --version

# Update Wireshark on Debian/Ubuntu systems
sudo apt update && sudo apt install --only-upgrade wireshark

# Update Wireshark on RHEL/CentOS systems
sudo yum update wireshark

# For Windows, download the latest installer from wireshark.org