CVE-2011-3974
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 · uneditedInteger signedness error in the decode_residual_inter function in cavsdec.c in libavcodec in FFmpeg before 0.7.4 and 0.8.x before 0.8.3 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (incorrect write operation and application crash) via an invalid bitstream in a Chinese AVS video (aka CAVS) file, a different vulnerability than CVE-2011-3362.
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 confidenceInteger signedness error in the decode_residual_inter function in cavsdec.c in libavcodec allows processing of malformed Chinese AVS (CAVS) video files to cause incorrect write operations and application crash. The vulnerability stems from the function not properly handling signed/unsigned integer conversion when parsing bitstream data.
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<= 0.7.3= 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= 0.4.6CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Determine FFmpeg versionRun 'ffmpeg -version' or check libavcodec version via 'ffmpeg -version 2>&1 | grep libavcodec'Affected if Version matches any of: 0.3 through 0.3.4, 0.4.0, 0.4.2 through 0.4.6, or 0.7.3 or earlier
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Check if libavcodec is in useIdentify if the system uses libavcodec (via FFmpeg, MPlayer, VLC, or other dependent applications) by checking package dependencies or library linkage with 'ldd <executable> | grep avcodec'Affected if libavcodec from a vulnerable FFmpeg version is linked to any application that processes video
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Verify CAVS decoder availabilityRun 'ffmpeg -codecs 2>&1 | grep -i cavs' or check if cavsdec.c module is compiled into libavcodec by inspecting the library symbolsAffected if CAVS (Chinese AVS) video decoding support is present in the installed libavcodec
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Identify processes handling CAVS videoMonitor or audit any application that processes AVS video files (.avs extension) using the affected library, check for recent file processing activity involving .avs filesAffected if CAVS video files are being processed by the vulnerable library component
You are affected if FFmpeg version 0.3-0.3.4, 0.4.0, 0.4.2-0.4.6, or 0.7.3 or earlier is installed and libavcodec with CAVS decoding support is being used to process Chinese AVS video files.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
From vendor dataUpgrade FFmpeg to version 0.7.4 or later (for the 0.7.x branch) or 0.8.3 or later (for the 0.8.x branch). Implement input validation for CAVS bitstreams before passing to the decoder to reject files with invalid residual data.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2011-3974 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2011-3974 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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