CVE-2016-4078

The IEEE 802.11 dissector in Wireshark 1.12.x before 1.12.11 and 2.0.x before 2.0.3 does not...

5.9 MediumFix available

The IEEE 802.11 dissector in Wireshark 1.12.x before 1.12.11 and 2.0.x before 2.0.3 does not properly restrict element lists, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (deep recursion and application crash) via a crafted packet, related to epan/dissectors/packet-capwap.c and epan/dissectors/packet-ieee80211.c.

Attack profile

How easy it is to exploit

Attack vector: Network
Complexity: High
Privileges needed: None
User interaction: None

What an attacker can affect

Confidentiality: None
Integrity: None
Availability: High

Exploit likelihood

2.12%Up 0.8 points since Feb 4, 2022

What each source reports

NVD Score used 5.9

Record: CVE-2016-4078
CVSS 3.0: 5.9 MediumCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CVSS 2.0: 4.3 MediumAV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P
Weakness: CWE-20
Updated: 2026-11-02

CVE List No score

Record: CVE-2016-4078
Updated: 2026-11-02

EUVDEUVD-2016-5079 No score

Record: EUVD-2016-5079
Updated: 2026-11-03

GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-q5q9-8q79-9xp9 5.9

The IEEE 802.11 dissector in Wireshark 1.12.x before 1.12.11 and 2.0.x before 2.0.3 does not...

Record: GHSA-q5q9-8q79-9xp9
CVSS 3.0: 5.9 MediumCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Weakness: CWE-20
Updated: 2026-11-02

OSV 5.9

Record: CVE-2016-4078
CVSS 3.0: 5.9 MediumCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Updated: 2026-11-02

OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2016-4078 5.9

Record: DEBIAN-CVE-2016-4078
CVSS 3.0: 5.9 MediumCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Updated: 2026-11-02

OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2016-4078 5.9

Record: UBUNTU-CVE-2016-4078
CVSS 3.0: 5.9 MediumCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Updated: 2026-11-02

OSVMGASA-2016-0153 No score

Updated wireshark packages fix security vulnerabilities

Updated wireshark packages fix security vulnerabilities:

The NCP dissector could crash (CVE-2016-4076).

TShark could crash due to a packet reassembly bug (CVE-2016-4077).

The IEEE 802.11 dissector could crash (CVE-2016-4078).

The PKTC dissector could crash (CVE-2016-4079).

The PKTC dissector could crash (CVE-2016-4080).

The IAX2 dissector could go into an infinite loop (CVE-2016-4081).

Wireshark and TShark could exhaust the stack (CVE-2016-4006).

The GSM CBCH dissector could crash (CVE-2016-4082).

MS-WSP dissector crash (CVE-2016-4083, CVE-2016-4084).

Record: MGASA-2016-0153
Updated: 2026-11-02

Affected products

wireshark

Affected packages

Affected packages
Package	Affected	Fixed
`wireshark` Debian:12	before 2.0.3+geed34f0-1	2.0.3+geed34f0-1
`wireshark` Debian:13	before 2.0.3+geed34f0-1	2.0.3+geed34f0-1
`wireshark` Debian:14	before 2.0.3+geed34f0-1	2.0.3+geed34f0-1
`wireshark` Mageia:5 From an advisory covering 10 CVEs	before 2.0.3-1.mga5	2.0.3-1.mga5
`wireshark` Ubuntu:14.04:LTS	before 2.6.3-1~ubuntu14.04.1, plus listed versions 1.10.2-11.10.3-11.10.5-1ubuntu11.10.5-21.10.6-11.12.1+g01b65bf-4+deb8u11ubuntu0.14.04.1	2.6.3-1~ubuntu14.04.1
`wireshark` Ubuntu:16.04:LTS	before 2.6.3-1~ubuntu16.04.1, plus listed versions 1.12.7+g7fc8978-11.12.8+g5b6e543-22.0.1+g59ea380-3build12.0.2+ga16e22e-12.2.6+g32dac6a-2ubuntu0.16.04	2.6.3-1~ubuntu16.04.1
`wireshark` Ubuntu:18.04:LTS	before 2.6.3-1~ubuntu18.04.1, plus listed versions 2.4.2-12.4.3-12.4.4-12.4.5-1	2.6.3-1~ubuntu18.04.1

History

History
Recorded	Changed	Sources
Nov 6, 2026	affected, facts
Nov 3, 2026	aliases	EUVD
Nov 2, 2026	first indexed	CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV

Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.

In short

CVE-2016-4078 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 5.9) in Wireshark, published April 25, 2016. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 2.12%, the 81st percentile. Fixed in wireshark 2.0.3+geed34f0-1.

References

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