UbuntuOperating system
CVE-2015-5479
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 ff_h263_decode_mba function in libavcodec/ituh263dec.c in Libav before 11.5 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (divide-by-zero error and application crash) via a file with crafted dimensions.
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 confidenceA divide-by-zero vulnerability exists in the ff_h263_decode_mba function within libavcodec/ituh263dec.c in Libav versions prior to 11.5. The vulnerability is triggered when processing H.263 video files with crafted, specially malformed dimensions that cause a division by zero operation, leading to denial of service via application crash.
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
UbuntuOperating system
= 12.04<= 11.4= 42.1CVSS 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
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
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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Determine Libav versionRun 'avconv -version' or check the libavcodec package version (e.g., dpkg -l libavcodec or rpm -q libavcodec)Affected if The reported version is 11.4 or earlier, or on Ubuntu 12.04 any version prior to the fix
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Confirm H.263 decoding support is availableRun 'avconv -codecs 2>/dev/null | grep -i h263' or 'avprobe -codecs 2>/dev/null | grep h263' to list available H.263 decodersAffected if H.263 decoding (h263, h263p, or ituh263) appears in the supported codecs list
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Identify if H.263 video processing is in useReview application logs, transcoding scripts, or service configurations that process video files to see if H.263 format (typically .263, .h263, or FLV with H.263) is being decodedAffected if Any system or application processes H.263 video files using the vulnerable Libav library
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Check for malformed H.263 input filesInspect any H.263 files in processing pipelines for unusually large or zero dimension values in the stream header (may require hexdump or media info tools to inspect raw bitstream headers)Affected if H.263 files with dimensions set to zero, extremely large values, or otherwise malformed header parameters are present in the environment
You are affected if Libav version 11.4 or earlier is installed AND H.263 video decoding functionality is enabled or used 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 to Libav 11.5 or later, which contains the fix for the dimension validation issue. Alternatively, implement input validation to reject H.263 files with suspicious or out-of-spec dimension values before processing.
Fix this in Ubuntu
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,808.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-5479 — 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-2015-5479 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
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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