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LibavApplication

CVE-2012-2776

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2012-09-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 0.10.4 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 decode_cell_data function in libavcodec/indeo3.c in FFmpeg before 0.11 and Libav 0.8.x before 0.8.4 has unknown impact and attack vectors, related to an "out of picture write."

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 buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the decode_cell_data function in libavcodec/indeo3.c in FFmpeg before 0.11 and Libav 0.8.x before 0.8.4. The vulnerability allows an out-of-bounds write ('out of picture write') which can cause memory corruption when processing specially crafted Indeo 3 format video files, potentially enabling arbitrary code execution.

MitigationUpgrade to FFmpeg 0.11 or later, or Libav 0.8.4 or later. If upgrading is not feasible, disable processing of untrusted or unknown Indeo 3 format video files until the patch can be applied.

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
LibavApplication
Affected:= 0.8= 0.8.1= 0.8.2= 0.8.3
FfmpegApplication
Affected:<= 0.10.4= 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. Identify installed multimedia library
    Run 'ffmpeg -version' or 'avconv -version' to determine if FFmpeg or Libav is installed and obtain the version number.
    Affected if The version displayed matches any of the affected versions: Libav 0.8.x (0.8, 0.8.1, 0.8.2, 0.8.3) or FFmpeg 0.3.x through 0.10.4, or 0.4.x through 0.4.6.
  2. Locate the indeo3 decoder module
    Check for the presence of libavcodec/indeo3.c compiled library or run 'ffmpeg -codecs' or 'avconv -codecs' and search for indeo3 in the decoder list.
    Affected if The indeo3 decoder is listed as available, indicating the vulnerable code is present in the installation.
  3. Verify Indeo 3 format support is enabled
    Run 'ffmpeg -formats 2>/dev/null | grep -i indeo' or 'avconv -formats 2>/dev/null | grep -i indeo' to check if Indeo 3 demuxing/decoding is compiled in.
    Affected if Indeo 3 format support appears in the output, confirming the component that contains the buffer overflow is active.
  4. Check for Indeo 3 processing capability
    Attempt to identify if any application on the system uses libavcodec for video processing, or check for video files with .iv3, .avi, or other containers known to support Indeo 3 codec.
    Affected if The system has the capability to process Indeo 3 video files, which would trigger the vulnerable decode_cell_data function.

A user is affected if FFmpeg or Libav is installed with a version matching the affected ranges AND the indeo3 decoder is available and capable of processing Indeo 3 format video 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 0.10.4
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to FFmpeg 0.11 or later, or Libav 0.8.4 or later. If upgrading is not feasible, disable processing of untrusted or unknown Indeo 3 format video files until the patch can be applied.

Recommended fix High confidence

FFmpeg 0.11 or later (or latest stable), or Libav 0.8.4 or later (or latest stable)

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed version of FFmpeg or Libav by running 'ffmpeg -version' or 'avconv -version'
  2. 2. If using FFmpeg, upgrade to version 0.11 or later (or preferably the latest stable release for additional security fixes)
  3. 3. If using Libav, upgrade to version 0.8.4 or later (or preferably the latest stable release for additional security fixes)
  4. 4. On Debian/Ubuntu: use 'apt-get update && apt-get install ffmpeg' or obtain packages from your distribution's security updates
  5. 5. On RHEL/CentOS: use 'yum update ffmpeg' or obtain packages from your distribution's security updates
  6. 6. Alternatively, compile from source by downloading the latest stable release from ffmpeg.org or libav.org
  7. 7. After upgrade, verify the new version is installed with 'ffmpeg -version' or 'avconv -version'
  8. 8. Test that your media processing workflows function correctly with the updated version
Caveat Newer versions may have API/ABI changes or altered command-line options; test thoroughly before deploying to production

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

Fix this in Libav Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
21.0 hours of engineering $3,680
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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-2012-2776 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