# CVE-2011-3266: Denial of service in n/a

> Remote attackers can cause a denial of service via infinite loop in Wireshark's IKEv1 dissector by sending malformed packets, requiring user interaction to open the capture.

- **Severity:** Low 2.6 (`AV:N/AC:H/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 24 Aug 2011
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2011-3266, GHSA-h4pp-978c-885j

## What is CVE-2011-3266?

CVE-2011-3266 is a low-severity denial of service vulnerability in Wireshark Wireshark, published on 24 Aug 2011. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

The proto_tree_add_item function in Wireshark 1.6.0 through 1.6.1 and 1.4.0 through 1.4.8, when the IKEv1 protocol dissector is used, allows user-assisted remote attackers to cause a denial of service (infinite loop) via vectors involving a malformed IKE packet and many items in a tree.

Weakness: CWE-399

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2011-3266?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Wireshark Wireshark.

## How do I fix CVE-2011-3266?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2011-3266 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2011-3266 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Wireshark Wireshark

- [CVE-2011-0444](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-0444/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2010-2994](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-2994/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2010-2995](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-2995/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2009-1266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-1266/): Other in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2009-1210](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-1210/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2011-3266 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2011-3266 is a low-severity denial of service vulnerability in Wireshark Wireshark, published on 24 Aug 2011. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2011-3266 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Wireshark Wireshark. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-3266/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-3266/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2011-3266
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2011-3266
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2011-3266

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-3266/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.