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LibavApplication

CVE-2012-2779

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_frame function in libavcodec/indeo5.c in FFmpeg before 0.11, and Libav 0.7.x before 0.7.7 and 0.8.x before 0.8.4, has unknown impact and attack vectors, related to an invalid "gop header" and decoding in a "half initialized context."

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

Buffer overflow/memory corruption vulnerability in the Indeo 5 video decoder (libavcodec/indeo5.c) where an invalid GOP header causes the decode_frame function to proceed in a half-initialized context. Given CVSS 10, this is likely exploitable for remote code execution via malicious video content.

MitigationUpgrade to FFmpeg 0.11 or later, or Libav 0.7.7+/0.8.4+. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, restrict or disable processing of Indeo 5 video content from untrusted sources.

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:= 0.7= 0.7.1= 0.7.2= 0.7.3= 0.7.4= 0.7.5= 0.7.6= 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 libavcodec or ffmpeg version
    Run 'ffmpeg -version' or 'avconv -version' to determine the exact version number of the library
    Affected if Version matches 0.7.x (0.7 to 0.7.6), 0.8.x (0.8 to 0.8.3), 0.3.x, 0.4.x, or is less than or equal to 0.10.4 for FFmpeg
  2. Confirm libavcodec library presence
    Check for libavcodec shared library file (commonly libavcodec.so or libavcodec.dylib in system libraries) using 'ldconfig -p' on Linux or 'ls /usr/lib/libavcodec*' on Unix-like systems
    Affected if The library is present and its version matches the affected ranges
  3. Check if Indeo 5 decoder module exists
    Look for the indeo5.c compiled object or the decoder module within libavcodec; on Linux 'strings libavcodec.so | grep indeo5' may reveal the decoder is compiled in
    Affected if The Indeo 5 decoder (indeo5) is compiled into or available within the installed libavcodec library
  4. Detect Indeo 5 video content processing capability
    Run 'ffmpeg -codecs 2>/dev/null | grep -i indeo' or 'avconv -codecs 2>/dev/null | grep -i indeo' to list supported Indeo codecs
    Affected if Indeo 5 (indeo5) or Indeo Video (indeo) decoder is listed as supported, indicating the vulnerable code path could be triggered

You are affected if your installed FFmpeg or Libav version falls within the listed affected ranges and the Indeo 5 decoder is available or could process video content from untrusted sources.

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 0.7.7+/0.8.4+. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, restrict or disable processing of Indeo 5 video content from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

FFmpeg >= 0.11, or Libav >= 0.7.7 (for 0.7.x) / >= 0.8.4 (for 0.8.x)

  1. Identify whether the system uses FFmpeg or Libav by checking the installed binary (run 'ffmpeg -version' or 'avconv -version')
  2. For FFmpeg: Check current version with 'ffmpeg -version'
  3. For Libav: Check current version with 'avconv -version'
  4. If using FFmpeg <= 0.10.4 or 0.3.x, upgrade to FFmpeg >= 0.11
  5. If using Libav 0.7.x <= 0.7.6, upgrade to Libav >= 0.7.7
  6. If using Libav 0.8.x <= 0.8.3, upgrade to Libav >= 0.8.4
  7. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the new version
Caveat Major version upgrades in FFmpeg/Libav may introduce API changes affecting dependent applications; test thoroughly

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

Fix this in Libav Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,080
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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-2012-2779 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