Ubuntu LinuxOperating system · Canonical
CVE-2014-8544
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 · uneditedlibavcodec/tiff.c in FFmpeg before 2.4.2 does not properly validate bits-per-pixel fields, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (out-of-bounds access) or possibly have unspecified other impact via crafted TIFF data.
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 confidenceThe vulnerability exists in libavcodec/tiff.c in FFmpeg versions prior to 2.4.2. The bits-per-pixel fields in TIFF image files are not properly validated before being used in memory access operations, allowing crafted TIFF data to trigger out-of-bounds memory access leading to denial of service or potential code execution.
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
Ubuntu LinuxOperating system
= 12.04<= 2.4.1= 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= 0.4.6CVSS 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
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed FFmpeg versionRun 'ffmpeg -version' or 'avconv -version' to display the version string. Look for the release number (e.g., 2.4.1, 0.4.6, 0.3.4)Affected if The version displayed is 2.4.1 or earlier, or any 0.3.x or 0.4.x release listed in the affected versions
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Verify libavcodec presenceRun 'ffmpeg -codecs' or check for libavcodec library files in system directories (typically /usr/lib/ or /usr/local/lib/)Affected if libavcodec is installed and available for processing media files
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Confirm TIFF decoding support is enabledRun 'ffmpeg -formats 2>/dev/null | grep -i tiff' or 'ffmpeg -decoders 2>/dev/null | grep -i tiff' to list enabled formats and decodersAffected if TIFF image decoding (tiff decoder) appears in the enabled decoders list, indicating the vulnerable code path can be reached
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Identify active TIFF processing workflowsReview application logs, proxy configurations, or transcoding job records for recent TIFF file processing. Use 'file *.tiff' or 'file *.tif' on any stored test files to confirm TIFF handling capability existsAffected if TIFF files are being processed or the system is configured to accept TIFF input for decoding
A user is affected if their installed FFmpeg version matches one of the affected versions listed AND TIFF image decoding is enabled, allowing crafted TIFF files to trigger the out-of-bounds memory access in libavcodec/tiff.c.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
From vendor dataUpdate FFmpeg to version 2.4.2 or later which contains proper validation for bits-per-pixel fields in TIFF processing. If updating is not feasible, implement input validation filters to reject TIFF files with malformed header fields before processing.
Fix this in Ubuntu Linux
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,664.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2014-8544 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2014-8544 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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