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CVE Record

CVE-2026-5656: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') in Wireshark

Profile import path traversal in Wireshark 4.6.0 to 4.6.4 and 4.4.0 to 4.4.14 allows denial of service and possible code execution

HighCVSS 7.8Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysishigh

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

A crafted Wireshark profile import can escape its intended directory. If a user imports a malicious profile on an affected Wireshark version, the result can be denial of service and possibly code execution. This is high risk because no privileges are required, but user interaction and local handling are required.

Executive priority

Treat as a near-term workstation and analyst-tool remediation item. It is not internet-wormable from the provided evidence, but possible code execution through a common security tool makes patching and user guidance important.

Technical view

CVE-2026-5656 is a CWE-22 path traversal in Wireshark profile import affecting 4.6.0 through 4.6.4 and 4.4.0 through 4.4.14. CVSS 3.1 is 7.8 with AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R and high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely on analyst, engineering, SOC, forensic, and administrator systems where Wireshark is installed and users import shared or untrusted profiles. The provided sources identify Wireshark only; no other affected products are established in the bundle.

Exploitation context

The CVE is not listed as KEV in the source bundle. The attack requires user interaction with profile import on an affected local installation. Public sources state denial of service and possible code execution, but the bundle does not provide confirmed active exploitation evidence.

Researcher notes

The strongest evidence is the CVE record and Wireshark advisory reference. The source bundle does not include exploit details, confirmed in-the-wild exploitation, or a complete mitigation text. Validation should focus on affected version discovery and vendor-advisory alignment.

Mitigation direction

  • Inventory Wireshark installations and identify affected 4.6.x and 4.4.x versions.
  • Apply Wireshark or operating-system vendor updates referenced by official advisories.
  • Avoid importing profiles from untrusted or unauthenticated sources.
  • Use vendor guidance if a supported update is not yet available.
  • Restrict profile-sharing workflows to trusted internal repositories.

Validation and detection

  • Check installed Wireshark versions against the affected version ranges.
  • Confirm updated packages align with Wireshark or OS vendor advisories.
  • Review endpoint telemetry for recent imports of externally sourced Wireshark profiles.
  • Verify user guidance blocks untrusted profile imports until remediation is complete.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
9

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

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 · medium confidence lookup

CWE-22: File access and web shell behavior lookup

File traversal and upload weaknesses can lead teams to review file, web shell, execution, and collection telemetry. 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.

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description · low confidence lookup

Execution behavior lookup

The CVE wording references code or command execution, so execution technique review may help defensive triage. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.

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description · low confidence lookup

File access behavior lookup

The CVE wording references file access or upload behavior, so file telemetry and web shell review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.

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cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2026-5656 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
High
CVSS
7.8 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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.

2CVSS vectors
5Timeline events
2ADP providers
8Source links

SSVC decision data

CISA-ADPCISA Coordinator
Timestamp
Version
2.0.3
Exploitation: noneAutomatable: noTechnical Impact: total

CVSS vector scores

2 official scores

We 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.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
7.8CVSS 3.1HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H1.85.9redhat-SADP
7CVSS 3.1HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H15.9GitLab

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

7.8High
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2026-5656Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Vulnerability timeline

Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.

  1. CVE reservedCVE Program

    The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.

  2. ADP timelineredhat-SADP

    Made public.

  3. CVE publishedCVE Program

    The CVE record was published.

  4. ADP timelineredhat-SADP

    Reported to Red Hat.

  5. CVE updatedCVE Program

    The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.

ADP provider summaries

CISA-ADPCISA ADP Vulnrichment
other:ssvc
redhat-SADPwireshark: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') in Wireshark
other:Red Hat severity ratingcvssV3_1
  • 2026-05-01T00:01:16.202Z: Reported to Red Hat.
  • 2026-04-30T23:03:58.516Z: Made public.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
Wireshark FoundationWireshark4.6.0, 4.4.0unaffected
Weakness

CWE details

CWE-22

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.

CWE-22 · source CWE mapping

Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')

Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.

Open CWE intelligenceSame-CWE CVEs