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FfmpegApplication

CVE-2013-0847

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2013-12-07
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 1.0 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
The ff_id3v2_parse function in libavformat/id3v2.c in FFmpeg before 1.1 allows remote attackers to have an unspecified impact via ID3v2 header data, which triggers an out-of-bounds array access.

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

This is an out-of-bounds array access vulnerability in FFmpeg's ID3v2 metadata parser. The ff_id3v2_parse function in libavformat/id3v2.c fails to properly validate array bounds when processing ID3v2 header data from media files, allowing an attacker to trigger memory reads/writes beyond allocated buffers through specially crafted ID3v2 headers.

MitigationUpgrade to FFmpeg version 1.1 or later which contains the fix. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, implement strict validation of ID3v2 header sizes and field values before passing data to the parsing function.

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:<= 1.0= 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
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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify FFmpeg version
    Run 'ffmpeg -version' or check the library file version (e.g., libavformat.so) to obtain the exact version number
    Affected if The installed version is 0.3 through 0.3.4, 0.4.0, 0.4.2 through 0.4.6, or any version 1.0 or earlier
  2. Verify ID3v2 parsing is in use
    Inspect the media files being processed or run 'ffprobe -show_format <file>' on media files to check for ID3v2 tags in the metadata
    Affected if Media files containing ID3v2 metadata tags are being processed by the vulnerable FFmpeg version
  3. Check for vulnerable code path
    Examine libavformat/id3v2.c for the ff_id3v2_parse function; verify the file exists in the deployed FFmpeg build
    Affected if The ID3v2 parsing code is present and the version falls within the affected range, indicating the out-of-bounds vulnerability exists in this installation

A user is affected if they are running FFmpeg version 0.3 to 0.3.4, 0.4.0, or 0.4.2 to 0.4.6 (or any version <= 1.0) and processing media files that contain ID3v2 metadata tags, as the vulnerable ff_id3v2_parse function will be invoked.

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 1.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to FFmpeg version 1.1 or later which contains the fix. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, implement strict validation of ID3v2 header sizes and field values before passing data to the parsing function.

Recommended fix High confidence

FFmpeg 1.1 or later (upgrade from <=1.0 or 0.3.x to 1.1+)

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed FFmpeg version using: ffmpeg -version
  2. 2. If running FFmpeg <= 1.0, 0.3.x, or any version before 1.1, obtain the source code or binary for FFmpeg 1.1 or later from the official FFmpeg website (www.ffmpeg.org) or your system's package manager
  3. 3. If compiling from source, download FFmpeg 1.1 or later from git.videolan.org or the official release archives
  4. 4. Replace the existing FFmpeg installation with the patched version 1.1 or later
  5. 5. Verify the new version is installed correctly by running: ffmpeg -version
  6. 6. Test that audio/video processing functionality still works as expected
Caveat Major version upgrades may introduce API/ABI changes; test any custom integrations or scripts that depend on specific FFmpeg behaviors or output formats

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

Fix this in Ffmpeg Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing5.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
17.0 hours of engineering $2,970
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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-2013-0847 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