# CVE-2023-2855: Denial of service in Wireshark

> A crafted capture file can crash the Candump log parser in Wireshark, causing a denial of service for users analyzing network traffic.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 26 May 2023
- **Updated:** 3 Nov 2025
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2023-2855, GHSA-ff83-59jh-6r49, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-2855

## What is CVE-2023-2855?

CVE-2023-2855 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 26 May 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Candump log parser crash in Wireshark 4.0.0 to 4.0.5 and 3.6.0 to 3.6.13 allows denial of service via crafted capture file

Weakness: CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-2855?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Debian Debian Linux, Wireshark Wireshark.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-2855?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2023-2855 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2023-2855 exists.

## Other vulnerabilities in Debian Debian Linux

- [CVE-2015-3306](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-3306/): ProFTPD Improper Access Control (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-49113](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-49113/): RoundCube Webmail Deserialization of Untrusted Data (critical 9.9, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-24061](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-24061/): GNU InetUtils Argument Injection (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-39682](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-39682/): Linux Kernel Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-9680](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-9680/): Mozilla Firefox Use-After-Free (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-2855 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-2855 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 26 May 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2023-2855 exists.

Affected product: Debian Debian Linux. 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-2023-2855/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-2855/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-2855
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-2855
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-2855

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-2855/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.