WiresharkApplication
CVE-2023-3648
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedKafka dissector crash in Wireshark 4.0.0 to 4.0.6 and 3.6.0 to 3.6.14 allows denial of service via packet injection or crafted capture file
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceThe Kafka protocol dissector in Wireshark versions 3.6.0-3.6.14 and 4.0.0-4.0.6 contains a flaw that causes a crash when processing maliciously crafted Kafka packets or opening a specially crafted capture file. An attacker can cause denial of service by tricking a user into opening a crafted .pcap file or processing injected malicious traffic.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data
WiresharkApplication
>= 3.6.0, <= 3.6.14>= 4.0.0, <= 4.0.6CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check Wireshark versionRun 'wireshark --version' or 'tshark --version' to determine the installed versionAffected if The version is 3.6.0 through 3.6.14, or 4.0.0 through 4.0.6
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Verify Kafka protocol dissector is availableOpen Wireshark, go to Analyze -> Enabled Protocols, and check if Kafka is enabled; or run 'tshark -G protocols' and look for 'kafka'Affected if Kafka dissector is listed as enabled in the Wireshark configuration
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Confirm recent Kafka traffic capture activityReview recent .pcap files opened or network interfaces where Kafka traffic may have been captured; check Wireshark's recent files list or capture logsAffected if Files named with .pcap extension containing Kafka protocol traffic were recently opened or processed
You are affected if Wireshark version is 3.6.0-3.6.14 or 4.0.0-4.0.6 and you have opened .pcap files or processed network traffic containing Kafka protocol data.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scopedUpgrade Wireshark to version 3.6.15 or later (3.6.x) and 4.0.7 or later (4.0.x). Avoid opening capture files from untrusted sources and do not process Kafka traffic from untrusted network sources.
Wireshark 3.6.15+ or 4.0.7+ (depending on your major version branch)
- 1. Identify your currently installed Wireshark version using 'wireshark --version' or 'tshark --version'
- 2. If running Wireshark 3.6.x (versions 3.6.0 through 3.6.14), upgrade to Wireshark 3.6.15 or later
- 3. If running Wireshark 4.0.x (versions 4.0.0 through 4.0.6), upgrade to Wireshark 4.0.7 or later
- 4. Download the appropriate fixed release from the official Wireshark website (www.wireshark.org) or your distribution's package repository
- 5. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the new version
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Wireshark
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,200.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-3648 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-3648 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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