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FfmpegApplication

CVE-2008-4868

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2008-11-01
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 0.4.9 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Unspecified vulnerability in the avcodec_close function in libavcodec/utils.c in FFmpeg 0.4.9 before r14787, as used by MPlayer, has unknown impact and attack vectors, related to a free "on random pointers."

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

Memory corruption vulnerability in FFmpeg's avcodec_close function where arbitrary memory pointers are freed, potentially leading to code execution. The issue affects libavcodec versions 0.4.9 through r14786 as used by MPlayer and other applications.

MitigationUpgrade FFmpeg to r14787 or later to obtain the patched libavcodec library. Recompile or update all applications linking against the vulnerable library version.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
FfmpegApplication
Affected:<= 0.4.9= 0.3= 0.3.1= 0.3.2= 0.3.3= 0.3.4= 0.4.0= 0.4.2= 0.4.3= 0.4.4= 0.4.5= 0.4.6

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check FFmpeg version
    Run 'ffmpeg -version' and note the version number displayed in the output
    Affected if The version listed is 0.3.x, 0.4.x through 0.4.9, or shows a Subversion revision number r14786 or lower
  2. Check libavcodec library version
    Run 'ffmpeg -version' or check the library file directly with 'ldd $(which ffmpeg)' to find linked libraries, then examine the library with 'strings /usr/lib/libavcodec.so* | grep -i version' or check the package manager
    Affected if The libavcodec library version matches 0.3.x through 0.4.9, or the library build revision is r14786 or earlier
  3. Check MPlayer linked FFmpeg library
    Run 'mplayer -vo help 2>&1 | head -5' and check 'ldd $(which mplayer)' to see if it links to libavcodec
    Affected if MPlayer links against a vulnerable libavcodec version (0.3.x through 0.4.9 or r14786 and earlier)
  4. Identify other applications using libavcodec
    Run 'ldconfig -p | grep avcodec' to list all binaries linked against libavcodec on the system
    Affected if Any application listed is linked against a vulnerable version of libavcodec
  5. Confirm the avcodec_close function usage
    Review application logs or documentation to verify the application opens media files, which triggers avcodec initialization and cleanup via avcodec_close
    Affected if The application opens video/audio codec contexts and calls avcodec_close during cleanup, which triggers the vulnerable code path

A system is affected if it runs FFmpeg, MPlayer, or any other application linking to libavcodec versions 0.3.x through 0.4.9 or build revision r14786 or earlier.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 0.4.9
Interim mitigation

Upgrade FFmpeg to r14787 or later to obtain the patched libavcodec library. Recompile or update all applications linking against the vulnerable library version.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

FFmpeg 0.5 or later (fixed at revision r14787)

  1. 1. Identify all systems running FFmpeg versions 0.3.x or 0.4.9.
  2. 2. Determine if FFmpeg is used directly or indirectly through MPlayer (which embeds FFmpeg).
  3. 3. Plan upgrade to a stable release that includes the fix for the avcodec_close use-after-free vulnerability.
  4. 4. Test the upgrade in a non-production environment before deploying.
  5. 5. Deploy the upgraded FFmpeg version and verify functionality.
Caveat Upgrading from 0.3/0.4.x to 0.5 may introduce API/ABI changes; test all media processing workflows

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Ffmpeg Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
Get the upgrade done

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2008-4868 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data