CVE-2012-1776
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 · uneditedMultiple heap-based buffer overflows in VideoLAN VLC media player before 2.0.1 allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via a crafted Real RTSP stream.
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 confidenceMultiple heap-based buffer overflows in VLC media player's RTSP stream handling code allow remote attackers to overflow buffers by sending specially crafted Real RTSP packets, potentially enabling arbitrary code execution or causing application crash.
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<= 2.0.0= 0.1.99a= 0.1.99b= 0.1.99c= 0.1.99d= 0.1.99e= 0.1.99f= 0.1.99g= 0.1.99h= 0.1.99i= 0.2.0= 0.2.50CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify VLC Media Player is installedCheck for VLC installation by looking for the VLC executable (vlc.exe on Windows, vlc on Linux/Mac) in common installation directories or using system inventory toolsAffected if VLC is installed on the system
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Identify installed VLC versionRun 'vlc --version' from command line, or right-click the VLC executable and view Properties > Details for the version numberAffected if The installed version matches one of the affected versions: 0.1.99a through 0.1.99i, 0.2.0, 0.2.50, or any version 2.0.0 or earlier
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Confirm RTSP input module is presentCheck VLC's plugin/modules directory for librtsp.so (Linux/Mac) or rtsp.dll (Windows), or run 'vlc -l' to list compiled-in modules and look for rtspAffected if The RTSP input module exists in the VLC installation and is available for use
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Detect active or configured RTSP streamsReview any media source configurations, network logs, or running processes that may involve RTSP URLs (rtsp:// prefix)Affected if The system is configured to receive or has recently processed RTSP streams from remote sources
You are affected if VLC Media Player is installed with a version <= 2.0.0 (including all 0.1.99x, 0.2.0, and 0.2.50 releases) and the RTSP input module is available or in use on the system.
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.
dbcve · scopedUpgrade VLC media player to version 2.0.1 or later. Until patched, block RTSP traffic at the network perimeter or restrict media player usage to trusted sources.
VLC 2.0.1 or later (current stable release recommended)
- Navigate to the official VideoLAN VLC download page at https://www.videolan.org/
- Download the latest VLC Media Player installer for your operating system
- Run the installer and follow the prompts to complete the installation
- Launch VLC Media Player and verify it runs without errors
- Confirm the installed version is 2.0.1 or later by checking Help > About (or equivalent)
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2012-1776 — 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-2012-1776 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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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.
- 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