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FfmpegApplication

CVE-2013-0859

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 add_doubles_metadata function in libavcodec/tiff.c in FFmpeg before 1.1 allows remote attackers to have an unspecified impact via a negative or zero count value in a TIFF image, 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 · high confidence

A buffer over-read vulnerability exists in FFmpeg's libavcodec/tiff.c where the add_doubles_metadata function fails to validate the count value from a crafted TIFF image before using it as an array index. When a negative or zero count value is present in the TIFF metadata, the function accesses memory outside allocated buffer bounds, potentially leading to information disclosure or code execution.

MitigationUpgrade FFmpeg to version 1.1 or later, which contains proper bounds checking for TIFF metadata count values. Alternatively, implement input validation in the add_doubles_metadata function to reject negative or zero count values before array access.

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. Determine FFmpeg version
    Run 'ffmpeg -version' or check libavcodec version via 'ffmpeg -version 2>&1 | grep libavcodec'
    Affected if Version is 0.3.x, 0.4.x through 0.4.6, or 1.0 or earlier (affected versions listed)
  2. Check if TIFF decoding support is built in
    Run 'ffmpeg -formats 2>&1 | grep -i tiff' or check build configuration for TIFF demuxer/decoding support
    Affected if TIFF support is enabled in the build (the vulnerable code path requires TIFF parsing capability)
  3. Identify TIFF processing usage
    Inspect application logs or traffic to see if FFmpeg processes TIFF images; check for .tiff/.tif file inputs being processed
    Affected if The system processes TIFF images using the affected FFmpeg library (the vulnerability triggers during TIFF metadata parsing)
  4. Verify library file presence
    Locate the compiled libavcodec library (e.g., libavcodec.so or avcodec.dll) and note its path for version correlation
    Affected if The libavcodec library in use is from an affected FFmpeg version (the vulnerable code resides in libavcodec/tiff.c)

You are affected if FFmpeg version 1.0 or earlier (0.3.x through 0.4.6) is in use AND the system processes TIFF images, as the buffer over-read in libavcodec/tiff.c add_doubles_metadata function requires both the vulnerable code path and TIFF input with crafted metadata to trigger.

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 FFmpeg to version 1.1 or later, which contains proper bounds checking for TIFF metadata count values. Alternatively, implement input validation in the add_doubles_metadata function to reject negative or zero count values before array access.

Recommended fix High confidence

FFmpeg 1.1 or later

  1. 1. Check the current FFmpeg version by running: ffmpeg -version
  2. 2. If the version is 1.0 or earlier, or any 0.3.x version, plan for an upgrade
  3. 3. Download FFmpeg 1.1 or later from the official FFmpeg website (www.ffmpeg.org) or from a trusted package repository
  4. 4. Install the new version following the appropriate installation method for your operating system
  5. 5. Verify the installation by running: ffmpeg -version to confirm the new version is running
  6. 6. Test that your specific TIFF processing workflows function correctly with the updated version
Caveat Minor: Review release notes for 1.1 for any backward compatibility changes in TIFF decoding or API changes

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

Fix this in Ffmpeg 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-2013-0859 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