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FfmpegApplication

CVE-2013-0878

HIGH · 9.3 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 advance_line function in libavcodec/targa.c in FFmpeg before 1.1.3 allows remote attackers to have an unspecified impact via crafted Targa image data, 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 · moderate confidence

Out-of-bounds array access vulnerability in the advance_line function in libavcodec/targa.c of FFmpeg versions prior to 1.1.3 allows remote attackers to potentially execute arbitrary code via specially crafted Targa image files. The vulnerability stems from insufficient bounds checking when processing Targa image data.

MitigationUpgrade to FFmpeg version 1.1.3 or later to obtain the patch. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, implement input validation on Targa files or disable Targa decoding until the upgrade can be completed.

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
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. Check installed FFmpeg version
    Run 'ffmpeg -version' or 'ffmpeg -buildconf' to identify the exact version number
    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. Verify Targa decoding is enabled
    Run 'ffmpeg -codecs' or 'ffmpeg -decoders' and search for 'targa' in the output
    Affected if A Targa decoder (such as 'targa' or 'targa_y216') is listed as available, meaning the vulnerable targa.c code is compiled into the installation
  3. Confirm libavcodec/targa.c is present
    Locate the FFmpeg installation directory and check for the presence of libavcodec/targa.c or a compiled library containing Targa decoding support
    Affected if The Targa decoder source or compiled decoder is present in the build, indicating the vulnerable code path exists
  4. Check for Targa input processing
    Review any logs, transcoding jobs, or applications that process Targa image files using this FFmpeg installation
    Affected if Targa image files are being decoded by this FFmpeg instance, triggering the vulnerable code path in advance_line function

You are affected if your FFmpeg version is in the affected list AND Targa decoding is enabled and used to process Targa image files.

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 version 1.1.3 or later to obtain the patch. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, implement input validation on Targa files or disable Targa decoding until the upgrade can be completed.

Recommended fix High confidence

FFmpeg 1.1.3 or later (recommended: latest stable release)

  1. 1. Check the current FFmpeg version by running 'ffmpeg -version'
  2. 2. Upgrade FFmpeg to version 1.1.3 or later. For Linux systems using package managers, use 'apt-get update && apt-get install ffmpeg' (Debian/Ubuntu) or 'yum update ffmpeg' (RHEL/CentOS)
  3. 3. Alternatively, compile from source by downloading FFmpeg 1.1.3 or later from ffmpeg.org
  4. 4. Verify the upgrade was successful by running 'ffmpeg -version' and confirming the version number is 1.1.3 or higher
  5. 5. Test that FFmpeg functions normally with your specific use cases
Caveat Upgrading minor versions typically has minimal breaking changes, but test critical workflows after upgrade

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

Fix this in Ffmpeg Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2013-0878 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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