Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2026-0959 is a Wireshark crash vulnerability in the IEEE 802.11 dissector. A crafted wireless packet capture or traffic scenario could cause Wireshark to become unavailable. It does not indicate data theft or system takeover in the supplied sources, but it can disrupt analysts who rely on Wireshark.
Executive priority
Treat as a moderate operational-risk item. Prioritize updates for teams handling wireless captures or untrusted packet files, but this is not supported as an active exploitation or data-breach issue by the supplied sources.
Technical view
The issue is an out-of-bounds write, CWE-787, in Wireshark’s IEEE 802.11 protocol dissector. Affected ranges are Wireshark 4.6.0 through 4.6.2 and 4.4.0 through 4.4.12. CVSS 3.1 is 5.3 with AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H, indicating denial of service only.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most relevant where affected Wireshark versions parse 802.11 captures or wireless traffic. Security operations, network engineering, wireless troubleshooting, and forensic workflows are the likely business-impact areas.
Exploitation context
The CVSS vector requires user interaction and high attack complexity. The supplied sources do not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. Impact is availability loss through a Wireshark crash, not confirmed confidentiality or integrity compromise.
Researcher notes
Public details are limited in the provided bundle. The referenced GitLab issue may require permissions. Avoid assuming remote code execution; the stated impact is dissector crash and denial of service.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory Wireshark installations and identify versions in the affected ranges.
- Upgrade to a Wireshark release outside the affected ranges per vendor guidance.
- Limit handling of untrusted 802.11 captures until updated.
- Review the Wireshark advisory for any environment-specific guidance.
Validation and detection
- Confirm installed Wireshark versions are not 4.6.0-4.6.2 or 4.4.0-4.4.12.
- Check vulnerability management tools for CVE-2026-0959 detection coverage.
- Verify analyst workstations using Wireshark have been updated.
- Document any systems temporarily unable to upgrade.
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.
CWE-787: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2026-0959 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
- Medium
- CVSS
- 5.3 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
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 vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H1.63.6Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
5.3MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.wireshark.org/security/wnpa-sec-2026-02.htmlCVE reference
- GitLab Issue #20939CVE reference · issue-tracking, permissions-required
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.
Out-of-bounds Write
Out-of-bounds Write represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.