Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2016-9372 is a Wireshark denial-of-service issue in versions 2.2.0 through 2.2.1. Malformed Profinet I/O traffic or a crafted capture file could make the dissector loop excessively, disrupting packet analysis rather than directly compromising systems.
Executive priority
Treat this as a targeted operational reliability issue for packet analysis teams. Prioritize remediation where Wireshark processes industrial Profinet traffic or untrusted capture files.
Technical view
The Profinet I/O dissector in Wireshark could enter excessive looping when parsing input with too many I/O objects. Wireshark addressed this in plugins/profinet/packet-pn-rtc-one.c by rejecting inputs that exceed the object limit.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to environments using Wireshark 2.2.0 or 2.2.1 to inspect Profinet I/O network traffic or open relevant capture files.
Exploitation context
The source states triggering is possible through network traffic or a capture file. No provided source indicates active exploitation, and CVE KEV status is false.
Researcher notes
The public description identifies an excessive-loop condition, not memory corruption or code execution. Evidence provided does not include CVSS scoring, CWE mapping, exploit availability, or detailed attack prerequisites beyond traffic or capture-file triggering.
Mitigation direction
- Identify Wireshark installations running versions 2.2.0 or 2.2.1.
- Update Wireshark to a vendor-supported version containing the Profinet dissector fix.
- Avoid opening untrusted Profinet-related capture files on affected versions.
- Review Wireshark vendor guidance for any release-specific remediation notes.
Validation and detection
- Inventory analyst workstations and monitoring systems for affected Wireshark versions.
- Confirm upgraded builds include the fix for CVE-2016-9372.
- Check whether Profinet I/O traffic or capture files are processed in the environment.
- Review crash, hang, or high-CPU reports from packet analysis workflows.
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-2016-9372 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
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-2016-58.htmlCVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://code.wireshark.org/review/gitweb?p=wireshark.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=4127e3930ef663114567002001f44e01eba8a250CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://bugs.wireshark.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=12851CVE 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.