dbcve.org
FfmpegApplication

CVE-2011-3504

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2011-09-29
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 0.8.0 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
The Matroska format decoder in FFmpeg before 0.8.3 does not properly allocate memory, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted file.

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

A memory allocation vulnerability exists in FFmpeg's Matroska (MKV) demuxer before version 0.8.3. When parsing a specially crafted Matroska file, the decoder improperly allocates memory, which can be exploited to execute arbitrary code remotely.

MitigationUpdate FFmpeg to version 0.8.3 or later to patch the memory allocation flaw in the Matroska decoder. Until patched, avoid opening untrusted Matroska files with vulnerable FFmpeg installations.

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:<= 0.8.0= 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
M
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:M/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 if FFmpeg is installed
    Run 'ffmpeg -version' or 'ffmpeg -version 2>&1' to retrieve version information
    Affected if FFmpeg is not installed or command fails - not vulnerable
  2. Identify the installed FFmpeg version
    Parse the output of 'ffmpeg -version' to extract the version number (e.g., 0.8.0, 0.4.5, 0.3.2)
    Affected if The version displayed matches any of these: <= 0.8.0, 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 - user is affected
  3. Confirm the Matroska demuxer is available
    Run 'ffmpeg -formats 2>&1 | grep -i matroska' or 'ffmpeg -demuxers 2>&1 | grep -i matroska' to verify MKV demuxer support exists
    Affected if The Matroska demuxer is present and the version is in the affected range - user is vulnerable when processing MKV files
  4. Verify the specific version string
    Compare your exact version number against the affected list: <= 0.8.0, 0.3 through 0.3.4, 0.4.0, 0.4.2 through 0.4.6. Versions 0.8.3 and later are not affected.
    Affected if Your installed version is any of the listed affected versions - the vulnerability applies

If FFmpeg is installed and the version is 0.8.3 or later, the environment is not affected; any version from the affected list (0.3.x, 0.4.x, or <= 0.8.0) with Matroska demuxer enabled means the environment is vulnerable when parsing MKV 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 0.8.0
Interim mitigation

Update FFmpeg to version 0.8.3 or later to patch the memory allocation flaw in the Matroska decoder. Until patched, avoid opening untrusted Matroska files with vulnerable FFmpeg installations.

Recommended fix High confidence

FFmpeg 0.8.3 or later

  1. 1. Identify the current FFmpeg version installed on the system using 'ffmpeg -version'
  2. 2. If the installed version is 0.8.0 or earlier, or any 0.3.x version (0.3, 0.3.1, 0.3.2), the system is vulnerable
  3. 3. Upgrade to FFmpeg version 0.8.3 or later
  4. 4. Verify the upgrade was successful by running 'ffmpeg -version' again and confirming the version number is 0.8.3 or higher
  5. 5. Test that critical video processing workflows still function correctly with the new version
Caveat Minor: Ensure any custom build scripts or dependencies that pin to specific FFmpeg versions are updated to accommodate the new release

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

Fix this in Ffmpeg Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
24.0 hours of engineering $4,160
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,656.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2011-3504 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2011-3504 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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