Wireshark 4.6.x/4.4.x Path Traversal in Profile Import Causing DoS/Exec
CVE-2026-5656 Published on April 30, 2026
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
Vulnerability Analysis
CVE-2026-5656 is exploitable with local system access, requires user interaction. This vulnerability is considered to have a low attack complexity. The potential impact of an exploit of this vulnerability is considered to be very high.
Weakness Type
What is a Directory traversal Vulnerability?
The software uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the software does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory.
CVE-2026-5656 has been classified to as a Directory traversal vulnerability or weakness.
Products Associated with CVE-2026-5656
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Affected Versions
Wireshark Foundation Wireshark:- Version 4.6.0 and below 4.6.5 is affected.
- Version 4.4.0 and below 4.4.15 is affected.
- Version 1:4.4.2-10.el10_2 and below * is unaffected.
- Version 1:4.4.2-3.el10_0.4 and below * is unaffected.
Exploit Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) scores estimate the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. The percentile shows you how this score compares to all other vulnerabilities.