Description
NTS-KE protocol dissector crash in Wireshark 4.6.0 to 4.6.3 allows denial of service
Published: 2026-02-25
Score: 4.7 Medium
EPSS: < 1% Very Low
KEV: No
Impact: Denial of Service
Action: Immediate Patch
AI Analysis

Impact

The vulnerability is a null pointer dereference in the NTS-KE protocol dissector of Wireshark. When a malformed NTS‑KE packet is parsed, the program crashes, causing a denial of service. The flaw is categorized as CWE‑476, indicating unsafe use of a null pointer.

Affected Systems

Wireshark Foundation’s Wireshark product, versions 4.6.0 through 4.6.3, are affected. The vulnerability is specific to the NTS‑KE dissector in these releases.

Risk and Exploitability

The CVSS score is 4.7, indicating a medium severity. The EPSS score is below 1 %, suggesting a low probability of exploitation in the wild. The vulnerability is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog. The likely attack vector is the receipt of crafted NTS‑KE network traffic; an attacker could embed a rogue packet in a network stream to trigger the crash if the target is actively dissecting traffic.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on April 16, 2026 at 06:07 UTC.

Remediation

Vendor Solution

Upgrade to version 4.6.4 or above

OpenCVE Recommended Actions

  • Upgrade Wireshark to version 4.6.4 or later.
  • If an upgrade cannot be applied immediately, disable the NTS‑KE dissector in Wireshark preferences to prevent processing of malicious packets.
  • Limit processing of suspicious network traffic or isolate systems that capture NTS‑KE packets until the patch is installed.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on April 16, 2026 at 06:07 UTC.

Tracking

Sign in to view the affected projects.

Advisories

No advisories yet.

History

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 02:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 15:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
CPEs cpe:2.3:a:wireshark:wireshark:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 13:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Wireshark
Wireshark wireshark
Vendors & Products Wireshark
Wireshark wireshark

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 00:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

 threat_severity

Moderate

Wed, 25 Feb 2026 14:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description NTS-KE protocol dissector crash in Wireshark 4.6.0 to 4.6.3 allows denial of service
Title NULL Pointer Dereference in Wireshark
Weaknesses CWE-476
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 4.7, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

Subscriptions

Wireshark Wireshark
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: GitLab

Published:

Updated: 2026-03-27T13:56:59.690Z

Reserved: 2026-02-25T14:35:41.047Z

Link: CVE-2026-3202

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-02-25T20:35:01.448Z

cve-icon NVD

Status : Analyzed

Published: 2026-02-25T15:20:55.790

Modified: 2026-02-26T14:47:37.923

Link: CVE-2026-3202

cve-icon Redhat

Severity : Moderate

Publid Date: 2026-02-25T14:35:55Z

Links: CVE-2026-3202 - Bugzilla

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-04-16T06:15:26Z

Weaknesses