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FfmpegApplication

CVE-2013-0872

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2013-11-23
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 1.1.2 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 swr_init function in libswresample/swresample.c in FFmpeg before 1.1.3 allows remote attackers to have an unspecified impact via an invalid or unsupported (1) input or (2) output channel layout, related to 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

Out-of-bounds array access vulnerability in FFmpeg's libswresample library (swr_init function) when processing invalid or unsupported channel layouts for audio sample rate conversion. The lack of bounds checking on input/output channel layouts allows memory corruption that could enable arbitrary code execution.

MitigationUpgrade to FFmpeg 1.1.3 or later which includes proper bounds checking for channel layouts. If upgrading is not immediately feasible, implement input validation to reject unsupported channel configurations before calling swr_init.

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:<= 1.1.2= 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 FFmpeg version in use
    Run 'ffmpeg -version' or check the library file version (libswresample.so.* on Linux, libswresample.dylib on macOS, or swresample.dll on Windows)
    Affected if The version is 1.1.2 or lower, or matches any of these: 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
  2. Determine if libswresample is loaded
    Inspect running processes or application dependencies for links to libswresample (Linux: 'ldd <binary>', macOS: 'otool -L <binary>', Windows: depends.exe or Process Explorer)
    Affected if The library is loaded and the FFmpeg version is within the affected range above
  3. Identify if swr_init is invoked for audio conversion
    Review application code or trace API calls for usage of swr_init function from libswresample, particularly when initializing a SwrContext for sample rate conversion
    Affected if The application calls swr_init and the FFmpeg version is in the affected range
  4. Inspect channel layout configuration
    Audit any code or config that passes channel layout parameters (in_channel_layout, out_channel_layout) to swr_init without prior validation
    Affected if Custom or unsupported channel layouts are being passed to swr_init and the FFmpeg version is vulnerable

You are affected if your installed FFmpeg version falls within the listed vulnerable versions AND your application uses libswresample's swr_init function for audio channel layout conversion.

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 1.1.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to FFmpeg 1.1.3 or later which includes proper bounds checking for channel layouts. If upgrading is not immediately feasible, implement input validation to reject unsupported channel configurations before calling swr_init.

Recommended fix High confidence

FFmpeg 1.1.3 or later (any version after 1.1.2)

  1. 1. Identify the current FFmpeg version using 'ffmpeg -version' or check the installed package version
  2. 2. Download FFmpeg version 1.1.3 or later from the official FFmpeg website (www.ffmpeg.org) or compile from source
  3. 3. If using a package manager, upgrade to the fixed version: for Debian/Ubuntu use 'apt-get update && apt-get install ffmpeg', for RedHat/CentOS use 'yum update ffmpeg', or for MacOS use 'brew upgrade ffmpeg'
  4. 4. Verify the new version is installed by running 'ffmpeg -version'
  5. 5. Test that the swr_init functionality works correctly with valid channel layouts
Caveat Upgrading to newer FFmpeg versions may introduce API/ABI changes or deprecate certain encoding options; test critical workflows before deploying to production

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

Fix this in Ffmpeg Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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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-2013-0872 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
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