WiresharkApplication
CVE-2026-15163
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 · uneditedMultiple protocol dissector infinite loops in Wireshark 4.6.0 to 4.6.6 and 4.4.0 to 4.4.16 allow denial of service
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 · moderate confidenceMultiple protocol dissectors in Wireshark 4.6.0-4.6.6 and 4.4.0-4.4.16 contain infinite loops that trigger when parsing malformed or specially crafted network packets. An attacker can cause Wireshark to hang indefinitely by delivering a malicious pcap file or packet capture, resulting in denial of service.
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
>= 4.4.0, < 4.4.17>= 4.6.0, < 4.6.7CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/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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Determine Wireshark versionRun 'wireshark --version' in terminal or open Wireshark and go to Help > About Wireshark to view the exact version numberAffected if Version is 4.4.0 through 4.4.16 or 4.6.0 through 4.6.6 (these ranges contain the vulnerability)
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Identify if you parse network capturesCheck if you open pcap/pcapng files or perform live packet capture on network trafficAffected if You open capture files from untrusted sources or capture from untrusted networks, as the infinite loops trigger when dissectors parse malformed packets
You are affected if your installed Wireshark version falls within 4.4.0-4.4.16 or 4.6.0-4.6.6 and you process capture files or live traffic from potentially malicious sources.
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 · scoped4.4.174.6.7
Update Wireshark to a version beyond 4.6.6 and 4.4.16, and avoid opening untrusted pcap files or capturing from untrusted network sources.
Wireshark 4.4.17 or 4.6.7 (or later)
- Check current Wireshark version: wireshark --version
- For Linux/Unix systems using package managers: Update package list (e.g., apt update, yum update, or dnf update)
- Upgrade Wireshark: apt install wireshark (or yum install wireshark, dnf install wireshark)
- Verify the upgrade was successful: wireshark --version
- Ensure the version is now 4.4.17 or 4.6.7 or later
- Alternatively, download the latest version from https://www.wireshark.org/download.html and reinstall
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-2026-15163 — 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-2026-15163 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
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