Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2016-4415 is a Wireshark crash vulnerability in the Ixia IxVeriWave file parser. A specially crafted file can trigger a heap-based buffer overflow and crash Wireshark. This is primarily a denial-of-service risk for users or systems that open untrusted capture files.
Executive priority
Address during normal vulnerability remediation, faster for SOC or support teams handling external packet captures. Business impact is mainly analyst tool disruption, not confirmed system compromise.
Technical view
In Wireshark 2.x before 2.0.2, wiretap/vwr.c incorrectly increments an octet count while parsing Ixia IxVeriWave files. The CVE describes a heap-based buffer overflow leading to application crash via a crafted file. The record does not provide CVSS, CWE, or broader impact beyond denial of service.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely where analysts, help desks, SOC tooling, or automated workflows open untrusted IxVeriWave or capture-related files with Wireshark 2.x before 2.0.2.
Exploitation context
Sources describe crafted-file exploitation causing application denial of service. The CVE is not listed as CISA KEV, and the provided sources do not state active exploitation in the wild.
Researcher notes
Public details identify the vulnerable source file and parser behavior but do not include CVSS or CWE in the provided bundle. Avoid assuming code execution; the stated impact is heap-based buffer overflow and application crash.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade Wireshark 2.x installations to version 2.0.2 or later.
- Avoid opening untrusted capture files with vulnerable Wireshark versions.
- Check Wireshark vendor advisory for any environment-specific guidance.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Wireshark installations and record exact versions.
- Flag Wireshark 2.x versions earlier than 2.0.2 as vulnerable.
- Review workflows that process externally supplied capture files.
- Confirm upgraded systems report Wireshark 2.0.2 or later.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CVE-2016-4415 mapping review
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Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Unknown
- CVSS
- Not scored
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS and timeline data
No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.wireshark.org/security/wnpa-sec-2016-12.htmlCVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://code.google.com/p/google-security-research/issues/detail?id=647CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://bugs.wireshark.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=11795CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.