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XineApplication

CVE-2008-5237

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2008-11-26
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 1.1.5 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
Multiple integer overflows in xine-lib 1.1.12, and other 1.1.15 and earlier versions, allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via (1) crafted width and height values that are not validated by the mymng_process_header function in demux_mng.c before use in an allocation calculation or (2) crafted current_atom_size and string_size values processed by the parse_reference_atom function in demux_qt.c for an RDRF_ATOM string.

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 · high confidence

Integer overflows in xine-lib's MNG and QuickTime demuxers allow attackers to trigger heap corruption via crafted width/height values (demux_mng.c mymng_process_header) or atom/string_size values (demux_qt.c parse_reference_atom) that bypass allocation-size validation, potentially enabling arbitrary code execution.

MitigationUpgrade xine-lib to version 1.1.16 or later; alternatively, implement bounds validation on width, height, current_atom_size, and string_size values before use in memory allocation calculations in the affected demuxer functions.

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
XineApplication
Affected:<= 1.1.5= 0.9.13= 1= 1.0= 1.0.1= 1.0.2= 1.0.3a= 1.1.0= 1.1.1= 1.1.2= 1.1.3= 1.1.4

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. Identify installed xine-lib version
    Run `xine-config --version` or check the shared library file (e.g., libxine.so.1) using `ldd --version` or inspect the file metadata
    Affected if The reported version matches any of these: 0.9.13, 1.0, 1.0.1, 1.0.2, 1.0.3a, 1.1.0, 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.1.3, 1.1.4, or any version 1.1.5 or lower
  2. Confirm MNG demuxer is available
    Check for the presence of demux_mng.c source file or MNG plugin module in the xine-lib plugins directory (commonly /usr/lib/xine/plugins or similar)
    Affected if The MNG demuxer plugin is present and loaded by xine when processing MNG media files
  3. Confirm QuickTime demuxer is available
    Check for the presence of demux_qt.c source file or QuickTime plugin module in the xine-lib plugins directory
    Affected if The QuickTime demuxer plugin is present and loaded by xine when processing QuickTime media files
  4. Verify vulnerable code path exists
    Inspect the xine-lib source code for functions mymng_process_header in demux_mng.c and parse_reference_atom in demux_qt.c; look for memory allocation calls using width, height, current_atom_size, or string_size without proper bounds checking
    Affected if These functions exist and the allocation-size validation can be bypassed by malicious width/height or atom/string_size values in crafted media files

You are affected if xine-lib version 1.1.5 or lower is installed AND the MNG or QuickTime demuxer modules are available to process media files.

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 1.1.5
Interim mitigation

Upgrade xine-lib to version 1.1.16 or later; alternatively, implement bounds validation on width, height, current_atom_size, and string_size values before use in memory allocation calculations in the affected demuxer functions.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

xine-lib 1.1.16 or later (or latest stable 1.x release)

  1. 1. Identify the exact xine-lib version currently installed in your system
  2. 2. If running xine-lib <= 1.1.15, upgrade to version 1.1.16 or later
  3. 3. Rebuild any applications that link against xine-lib after upgrading
  4. 4. Verify the upgrade by checking that the mymng_process_header function in demux_mng.c now properly validates width and height values before allocation calculations
  5. 5. Confirm parse_reference_atom function in demux_qt.c now validates current_atom_size and string_size values before use
Caveat Library upgrade may require rebuilding dependent applications; ensure compatibility testing is performed

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

Fix this in Xine Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,800
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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-2008-5237 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