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LibavApplication

CVE-2012-2804

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 libavcodec/indeo3.c in FFmpeg before 0.11 and Libav 0.8.x before 0.8.5 has unknown impact and attack vectors, related to "reallocation code" and the luma height and width.

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 · moderate confidence

Memory corruption vulnerability in libavcodec/indeo3.c's reallocation code when handling luma height and width parameters in the Indeo 3 video codec decoder. The unspecified flaw allows potential memory corruption during buffer reallocation operations in older versions of FFmpeg (<0.11) and Libav (<0.8.5).

MitigationUpgrade to FFmpeg 0.11 or later, or Libav 0.8.5 or later. If immediate patching is not feasible, consider disabling or restricting the indeo3 codec decoder in affected applications.

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= 0.8.4
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 video codec library
    Run `ffmpeg -version` or `avconv -version` to determine if FFmpeg or Libav is installed and note the version number. If using libavcodec as a shared library, check the package manager or examine the library file (e.g., `dpkg -l | grep -E 'ffmpeg|libav'` on Debian-based systems, or `rpm -qa | grep -E 'ffmpeg|libav'` on RHEL-based systems).
    Affected if The version output shows FFmpeg or Libav from the affected version ranges (Libav 0.8-0.8.4, or FFmpeg 0.3-0.10.4 or 0.4.0-0.4.6).
  2. Verify the indeo3 decoder is present
    Run `ffmpeg -codecs 2>/dev/null | grep -i indeo3` or `avconv -codecs 2>/dev/null | grep -i indeo3` to list decoders and check if indeo3 (or ivi3) is listed as available. Alternatively, check the libavcodec configuration file or probe the library with `ldd` on the application using it.
    Affected if The indeo3 decoder appears in the list of supported codecs, indicating the vulnerable code path could be triggered.
  3. Confirm library version against affected ranges
    Compare the discovered version number to the affected ranges: Libav 0.8, 0.8.1, 0.8.2, 0.8.3, 0.8.4; FFmpeg <= 0.10.4, or versions 0.3.x, 0.4.0, 0.4.2-0.4.6. If the exact version is unclear, treat ambiguous or unpatched installations as potentially affected.
    Affected if The installed version matches any version in the listed affected ranges.

A user is affected if they have FFmpeg or Libav installed with a version matching the affected ranges AND the indeo3 decoder is available in their build.

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 0.8.5 or later. If immediate patching is not feasible, consider disabling or restricting the indeo3 codec decoder in affected applications.

Recommended fix High confidence

FFmpeg 0.11 or later; Libav 0.8.5 or later

  1. 1. Identify which library (Libav or FFmpeg) is in use in your system by checking the installed version: 'ffmpeg -version' or 'avconv -version'
  2. 2. If using Libav 0.8.x, upgrade to Libav 0.8.5 or later (preferably latest 0.8.x stable release)
  3. 3. If using FFmpeg 0.10.x or earlier, upgrade to FFmpeg 0.11 or later (preferably latest stable release)
  4. 4. If using FFmpeg 0.3.x, upgrade to FFmpeg 0.11 or later as these versions are also affected
  5. 5. Verify the upgrade was successful by running 'ffmpeg -version' or 'avconv -version' and confirming the version number meets the fixed release criteria
  6. 6. Rebuild any dependent applications that link against the library to ensure they use the updated version
Caveat Upgrading major versions may introduce API/ABI changes; test thoroughly with dependent applications

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
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,380
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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-2012-2804 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