CVE-2014-9316
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 · uneditedThe mjpeg_decode_app function in libavcodec/mjpegdec.c in FFMpeg before 2.1.6, 2.2.x through 2.3.x, and 2.4.x before 2.4.4 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (out-of-bounds heap access) and possibly have other unspecified impact via vectors related to LJIF tags in an MJPEG file.
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 confidenceOut-of-bounds heap access vulnerability in FFMpeg's mjpeg_decode_app function when parsing MJPEG files containing LJIF tags. The lack of bounds checking in libavcodec/mjpegdec.c allows a remote attacker to corrupt heap memory, potentially leading to denial of service or arbitrary 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<= 2.1.5= 2.2= 2.2.4= 2.3= 2.3.2= 2.3.3= 2.3.4= 2.3.5= 2.4= 2.4.1= 2.4.2= 2.4.3CVSS 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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Check if FFMpeg is installedRun 'ffmpeg -version' on the command line to display the installed FFMpeg versionAffected if The command returns no version information or FFMpeg is not installed, meaning the vulnerable component is not present in this form
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Verify the FFMpeg version against affected rangesCompare the version number from 'ffmpeg -version' output to the affected list: <= 2.1.5, 2.2, 2.2.4, 2.3, 2.3.2, 2.3.3, 2.3.4, 2.3.5, 2.4, 2.4.1, 2.4.2, 2.4.3Affected if The installed version matches any of these versions exactly or falls within the <= 2.1.5 range
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Confirm libavcodec presenceLocate the libavcodec library file, typically found in /usr/lib/ or /usr/local/lib/ with a name like libavcodec.so.* or libavcodec.dylibAffected if The library file exists, indicating the MJPEG decoding component is available to process video files
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Verify MJPEG decoding capability is accessibleRun 'ffmpeg -formats 2>/dev/null | grep -i mjpeg' to list supported MJPEG formats, or attempt to decode a test MJPEG file using 'ffmpeg -i test.mjpeg -f null - 2>&1'Affected if MJPEG decoding is supported and functional, meaning the vulnerable mjpeg_decode_app code path could be triggered by a malicious file
You are affected if FFMpeg is installed with a version matching the affected list (2.1.5 or lower, 2.2 through 2.4.3) and MJPEG decoding functionality is available in your environment.
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 dataUpgrade FFMpeg to version 2.4.4, 2.3.x, or 2.1.6 and later to include the bounds checking fix in the mjpeg_decode_app function. Alternatively, implement input validation to reject MJPEG files with LJIF tags until the upgrade is applied.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2014-9316 — 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-2014-9316 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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