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FfmpegApplication

CVE-2012-2796

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 vc1_decode_frame function in libavcodec/vc1dec.c in FFmpeg before 0.11 and Libav 0.8.x before 0.8.4 has unknown impact and attack vectors, related to inconsistencies in "coded slice positions and interlacing" that trigger "out of array writes."

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

Memory corruption vulnerability in the VC-1 video decoder (vc1_decode_frame in libavcodec/vc1dec.c) where inconsistencies in coded slice positions and interlacing handling cause out-of-bounds array writes. This allows attackers to write arbitrary data to memory via specially crafted VC-1 video files.

MitigationUpgrade FFmpeg to version 0.11 or later, or Libav to version 0.8.4 or later, to obtain the patched vc1dec.c implementation that properly validates slice positions before memory writes.

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:<= 0.10.4= 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
LibavApplication
Affected:= 0.8= 0.8.1= 0.8.2= 0.8.3

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 video decoding library
    Run 'ffmpeg -version' or 'avconv -version' to determine if FFmpeg or Libav is installed and note the version number
    Affected if The installed version matches one of the affected versions: FFmpeg <= 0.10.4, 0.3.x, 0.4.0, 0.4.2-0.4.6 OR Libav 0.8.0-0.8.3
  2. Confirm VC-1 decoder is present
    Check if the file libavcodec/vc1dec.c exists in the installation directory or library path
    Affected if The VC-1 decoder source file vc1dec.c is present, indicating the library was compiled with VC-1 support
  3. Verify VC-1 video decoding capability
    Run 'ffmpeg -codecs 2>/dev/null | grep -i vc1' or 'avconv -codecs 2>/dev/null | grep -i vc1' to list supported VC-1 decoders
    Affected if The output shows vc1 decoder support (such as 'E... vc1') indicating VC-1 decoding is enabled
  4. Check for active VC-1 video processing
    Monitor for ffmpeg/avconv processes handling .wmv, .vc1, or files with vc1 codec, or inspect any media files being processed
    Affected if The system is actively decoding VC-1 encoded video files using the affected library version

A user is affected if they are running FFmpeg <= 0.10.4 (including 0.3.x and 0.4.x series) or Libav 0.8.0-0.8.3 AND actively decoding VC-1 video files using the vulnerable vc1_decode_frame function in vc1dec.c

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 FFmpeg to version 0.11 or later, or Libav to version 0.8.4 or later, to obtain the patched vc1dec.c implementation that properly validates slice positions before memory writes.

Recommended fix High confidence

FFmpeg: 0.11 or later (latest stable recommended); Libav: 0.8.4 or later (latest stable recommended)

  1. 1. Identify which affected library (FFmpeg or Libav) is in use in your system
  2. 2. For FFmpeg: Check current version using 'ffmpeg -version' or checking the library files
  3. 3. For Libav: Check current version using 'avconv -version' or checking the library files
  4. 4. If using FFmpeg <= 0.10.4 or 0.3.x versions, upgrade to FFmpeg 0.11 or later (recommended: latest stable release)
  5. 5. If using Libav 0.8.x through 0.8.3, upgrade to Libav 0.8.4 or later (recommended: latest stable release)
  6. 6. Rebuild any applications that link against the library to ensure they use the fixed version
  7. 7. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the new version
Caveat Newer versions may have API/ABI changes that require code updates in dependent applications; major version jumps may introduce behavioral changes

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

Fix this in Ffmpeg Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,190
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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-2012-2796 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
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