CVE-2026-76928

NULL Pointer Dereference in Wireshark

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Published Aug 19, 2026 CVSS 3.1 · 7.5 High EPSS < 1% KEV · Not listed
Description
X.509IF protocol dissector crash in 4.6.0 to 4.6.7 and 4.4.0 to 4.4.18 allows denial of service

Analysis

AI-generated

Technical impact

A null pointer dereference occurs in the X.509IF protocol dissector of Wireshark versions 4.6.0 through 4.6.7 and 4.4.0 through 4.4.18. The defect allows an attacker to crash the application by sending a specially crafted packet, leading to a denial of service. The weakness is a classic null reference error (CWE‑476) and an improper initialization flaw (CWE‑825).

Affected Systems

The vulnerability affects Wireshark released by Wireshark Foundation. Versions 4.4.0 to 4.4.18 and 4.6.0 to 4.6.7 are vulnerable; any installation of these versions must be considered exposed until updated.

Risk and Exploitability

With a CVSS score of 7.5 the vulnerability is considered high severity. The EPSS score is 0.284% (0.00284), indicating a very low exploitation probability. The vulnerability is not listed in CISA's KEV catalog, implying that no widespread public exploits have yet been documented. The likely attack vector is through a crafted X.509IF packet delivered over a network that the Wireshark instance is capturing. Successful exploitation would crash Wireshark, causing loss of packet capture capability and potentially interrupting monitoring services.

Remediation

Vendor Solution

Upgrade to version 4.6.8 or above

OpenCVE Recommended Actions

  • Upgrade Wireshark to version 4.6.8 or newer
  • Disable the X.509IF dissector or turn off automatic protocol processing if an upgrade cannot be applied immediately
  • Apply the update to all systems running Wireshark, including monitor servers, to ensure the crash condition no longer exists

Generated by OpenCVE AI on August 21, 2026 at 04:06 UTC.

Tracking

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Advisories

Source ID Title
Debian DSA Debian DSA DSA-6471-1 wireshark security update
History
Type Values Removed Values Added
CPEs cpe:2.3:a:wireshark:wireshark:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-825
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

 threat_severity

Important
Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'yes', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}
Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Wireshark
Wireshark wireshark
Vendors & Products Wireshark
Wireshark wireshark
Type Values Removed Values Added
Description X.509IF protocol dissector crash in 4.6.0 to 4.6.7 and 4.4.0 to 4.4.18 allows denial of service
Title NULL Pointer Dereference in Wireshark
Weaknesses CWE-476
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}
Weaknesses
  • CWE-476

    NULL Pointer Dereference

  • CWE-825

    Expired Pointer Dereference

Sources

Status
PUBLISHED
Assigner
GitLab
Published
Updated
Aug 20, 2026, 4:27 PM
Reserved
Aug 19, 2026, 10:59 PM

View source JSON

Updated
Aug 20, 2026, 4:20 PM

JSON

Status
Analyzed
Published
Aug 19, 2026, 11:16 PM
Modified
Aug 31, 2026, 2:56 PM

View source JSON

Severity
Important
Public date
Aug 19, 2026, 11:00 PM

View source Bugzilla JSON

Updated
Aug 21, 2026, 4:15 AM

JSON