lua52.dll is considered a type of Dynamic Link Library (DLL) file. Dynamic Link Library files, like lua52.dll, are essentially a "guide book" that stores information and instructions for executable (EXE) files - like MpSigStub.exe - to follow. These files were created so that multiple programs (eg. Wireshark) could share the same lua52.dll file, saving valuable memory allocation, therefore making your computer run more efficiently.
Unfortunately, what makes DLL files so convenient and efficient, also makes them extremely vulnerable to problems. If something happens to a shared DLL file, either it goes missing or gets corrupted in some way, it can generate a "runtime" error message. Runtime is pretty self-explanatory; it means that these errors are triggered when lua52.dll is attempted to be loaded either when Wireshark is starting up, or in some cases already running. Some of the most common lua52.dll errors include:
- Access Violation at address - lua52.dll.
- lua52.dll could not be found.
- Cannot find C:\Program Files (x86)\Wireshark\lua52.dll.
- Cannot register lua52.dll.
- Cannot start Wireshark. A required component is missing: lua52.dll. Please install Wireshark again.
- Failed to load lua52.dll.
- The application has failed to start because lua52.dll was not found.
- The file lua52.dll is missing or corrupt.
- This application failed to start because lua52.dll was not found. Re-installing the application may fix this problem.
Your lua52.dll file could be missing due to accidental deletion, uninstalled as a shared file of another program (shared with Wireshark), or deleted by a malware infection. Furthermore, lua52.dll file corruption could be caused from a power outage when loading Wireshark, system crash while loading lua52.dll, bad sectors on your storage media (usually your primary hard drive), or quite commonly, a malware infection. Thus, it's critical to make sure your anti-virus is kept up-to-date and scanning regularly.