CVE-2026-15163 Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop') in Wireshark

Medium 5.5 Published Updated

Attackers can cause Wireshark to hang indefinitely by sending crafted network packets, leading to a denial of service.

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

What is CVE-2026-15163?

CVE-2026-15163 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Wireshark Wireshark, published on 8 Jul 2026. 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

Multiple protocol dissector infinite loops in Wireshark 4.6.0 to 4.6.6 and 4.4.0 to 4.4.16 allow denial of service

Weakness: CWE-835

Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-15163?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Wireshark Wireshark.

How do I fix CVE-2026-15163?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

Upgrade, then put limits on request size, rate and nesting depth so one client cannot exhaust the service. More about Denial of service.

Is CVE-2026-15163 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-15163 in the wild and no public exploit code.

All Wireshark Wireshark vulnerabilities

Sources

Also known as AZL-92123, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-15163, GHSA-3qvj-9wrj-3gpm, MINI-gj28-q33p-4wmg, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-15163.

Is CVE-2026-15163 in your software?

Upload an SBOM and sbomify checks it against every vulnerability here, every day.

Check your SBOMs for free