dbcve.org
FfmpegApplication

CVE-2015-6822

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v2.0 Published 2015-09-06
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2.7.1 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
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 destroy_buffers function in libavcodec/sanm.c in FFmpeg before 2.7.2 does not properly maintain height and width values in the video context, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (segmentation violation and application crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact via crafted LucasArts Smush video 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 confidence

The destroy_buffers function in libavcodec/sanm.c in FFmpeg before 2.7.2 fails to properly maintain height and width values in the video context when processing LucasArts Smush video files, leading to a memory corruption condition that causes segmentation violations and denial of service when processing crafted video data.

MitigationUpgrade to FFmpeg version 2.7.2 or later which contains the fix for proper height/width maintenance in the destroy_buffers function.

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:<= 2.7.1

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
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 checks

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

  1. Determine installed FFmpeg version
    Run 'ffmpeg -version' and look for the version number in the output (e.g., 2.7.1, 2.7.0, etc.)
    Affected if The version listed is 2.7.1 or earlier (any version <= 2.7.1)
  2. Identify if the Smush (sanm) decoder is available
    Run 'ffmpeg -decoders 2>/dev/null | grep -i sanm' or 'ffmpeg -formats 2>/dev/null | grep -i smush' to see if the LucasArts Smush decoder is compiled in
    Affected if The decoder is present and the FFmpeg version is <= 2.7.1 (vulnerable versions include the decoder)
  3. Check for libavcodec library file
    Locate the libavcodec library (e.g., libavcodec.so.55 or similar in /usr/lib or /usr/local/lib) and verify its version via 'ffmpeg -version' or by checking the library file name
    Affected if The linked libavcodec corresponds to FFmpeg version <= 2.7.1

You are affected if you are running any version of FFmpeg 2.7.1 or earlier AND the LucasArts Smush (sanm) video decoder is available in your build.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 2.7.1
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to FFmpeg version 2.7.2 or later which contains the fix for proper height/width maintenance in the destroy_buffers function.

Fix this in Ffmpeg Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,420
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,472.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-6822 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2015-6822 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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