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FfmpegApplication

CVE-2015-8216

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v2.0 Published 2015-11-17
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2.8.1 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 ljpeg_decode_yuv_scan function in libavcodec/mjpegdec.c in FFmpeg before 2.8.2 omits certain width and height checks, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (out-of-bounds array access) or possibly have unspecified other impact via crafted MJPEG 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

FFmpeg's ljpeg_decode_yuv_scan function in libavcodec/mjpegdec.c before version 2.8.2 lacks proper width and height validation when processing MJPEG data, allowing crafted files to trigger out-of-bounds array access and potentially achieve code execution or cause denial of service.

MitigationUpgrade FFmpeg to version 2.8.2 or later which includes proper width and height boundary checks in the MJPEG decoder; alternatively, apply the upstream patch that adds validation before array access operations.

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:<= 2.8.1

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 locate the version number in the output (e.g., 2.8.0, 2.8.1, etc.)
    Affected if The version is 2.8.1 or earlier (any version <= 2.8.1)
  2. Confirm FFmpeg binary package version
    On Debian/Ubuntu run 'dpkg -l | grep ffmpeg'; on RHEL/CentOS run 'rpm -qa | grep ffmpeg'; on macOS with Homebrew run 'brew list ffmpeg'
    Affected if The packaged version shown is 2.8.1 or earlier
  3. Verify MJPEG decoding capability is present
    Run 'ffmpeg -codecs 2>/dev/null | grep mjpeg' or 'ffmpeg -decoders 2>/dev/null | grep mjpeg' to confirm the MJPEG decoder exists
    Affected if The mjpeg decoder is listed and available in the build
  4. Check for MJPEG processing activity
    Inspect any logs, scripts, or applications that process MJPEG video files using this FFmpeg binary
    Affected if The affected FFmpeg is being used to decode or process MJPEG content

You are affected if your installed FFmpeg version is 2.8.1 or earlier AND you process MJPEG content with that binary.

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 2.8.1
Interim mitigation

Upgrade FFmpeg to version 2.8.2 or later which includes proper width and height boundary checks in the MJPEG decoder; alternatively, apply the upstream patch that adds validation before array access operations.

Fix this in Ffmpeg Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,760
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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-2015-8216 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