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Vlc Media PlayerApplication · Videolan

CVE-2014-9598

MEDIUM · 6.8 CVSS v2.0 Published 2015-01-21
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
77/100
Remediation priority · High
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 picture_Release function in misc/picture.c in VideoLAN VLC media player 2.1.5 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (write access violation) via a crafted M2V 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 confidence

The picture_Release function in misc/picture.c of VLC media player 2.1.5 contains a memory corruption vulnerability triggered when processing crafted M2V files. The flaw allows remote attackers to achieve write access violations, potentially enabling arbitrary code execution or causing denial of service.

MitigationUpgrade to a patched version of VLC media player 2.1.5 or later. Until patched, avoid opening untrusted M2V files from unknown or unverified sources.

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
Vlc Media PlayerApplication
Affected:= 2.1.5

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
Partial
Integrity
Partial
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:M/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify VLC version
    Run 'vlc --version' in command line, or on Windows open VLC and go to Help > About, or check the application properties
    Affected if The version listed is exactly 2.1.5 (not higher or lower)
  2. Verify M2V demuxer availability
    Open VLC, go to Tools > Codecs, or check the installed plugins/demuxers for M2V support (typically libm2v plugin)
    Affected if M2V demuxer module is present and enabled in the VLC installation
  3. Confirm M2V file handling capability
    Attempt to open a legitimate .m2v file with VLC, or check File > Open for M2V file type in the file dialog
    Affected if VLC can successfully load and process M2V files

You are affected if VLC version is exactly 2.1.5 AND M2V file support is enabled and functional in your installation

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade to a patched version of VLC media player 2.1.5 or later. Until patched, avoid opening untrusted M2V files from unknown or unverified sources.

Fix this in Vlc Media Player 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-2014-9598 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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