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CVE Record

CVE-2018-9263: In Wireshark 2.4.0 to 2.4.5 and 2.2.0 to 2.2.13, the Kerberos dissector could crash.

In Wireshark 2.4.0 to 2.4.5 and 2.2.0 to 2.2.13, the Kerberos dissector could crash. This was addressed in epan/dissectors/packet-kerberos.c by ensuring a nonzero key length.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysislow

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

This CVE is a Wireshark crash bug in the Kerberos packet parser. It can disrupt analysts by closing or crashing Wireshark when vulnerable versions process affected traffic or capture files. The sources do not indicate data theft, privilege escalation, or active exploitation.

Executive priority

Treat as a low-priority reliability and analyst-workstation hardening issue. Patch during normal maintenance unless vulnerable Wireshark systems routinely process untrusted captures for incident response or external customers.

Technical view

Wireshark 2.4.0 through 2.4.5 and 2.2.0 through 2.2.13 had a Kerberos dissector flaw. The fix was in epan/dissectors/packet-kerberos.c, ensuring key length is nonzero before use. The documented impact is a crash.

Likely exposure

Exposure is mainly analyst workstations, forensic labs, or servers running affected Wireshark versions and opening packet captures or traffic containing Kerberos data. Systems without Wireshark, or with versions outside the cited affected ranges, are not indicated as affected by the supplied sources.

Exploitation context

CISA KEV status is false, and the provided sources do not claim active exploitation. The credible risk is denial of service against the Wireshark application, likely through crafted or malformed Kerberos-related packet data.

Researcher notes

The public description is narrow: Kerberos dissector crash due to zero key length handling. No CVSS, CWE, or broader exploit details are supplied. Avoid assuming remote code execution or network-wide impact without additional vendor evidence.

Mitigation direction

  • Upgrade Wireshark to a vendor-supported version outside the affected ranges.
  • Apply Debian LTS Wireshark security updates where Debian packages are used.
  • Limit handling of untrusted packet captures on vulnerable analyst systems.
  • Check Wireshark advisory WNPA-SEC-2018-23 for vendor-specific upgrade guidance.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Wireshark versions across analyst and support workstations.
  • Flag Wireshark 2.4.0-2.4.5 and 2.2.0-2.2.13 as vulnerable.
  • Confirm Debian systems include the referenced LTS security update.
  • Review crash reports for Wireshark Kerberos dissector failures if available.
Prepared
Confidence
high
Sources
6

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

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CVE-2018-9263 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

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.

0CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
6Source links

CVSS and timeline data

No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
n/an/an/aListed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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