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FfmpegApplication

CVE-2015-8662

HIGH · 7.3 CVSS v3.0 Published 2015-12-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2.8.3 or later.
See remediation →
82/100
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 ff_dwt_decode function in libavcodec/jpeg2000dwt.c in FFmpeg before 2.8.4 does not validate the number of decomposition levels before proceeding with Discrete Wavelet Transform decoding, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (out-of-bounds array access) or possibly have unspecified other impact via crafted JPEG 2000 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 ff_dwt_decode function in libavcodec/jpeg2000dwt.c in FFmpeg before 2.8.4 fails to validate the number of decomposition levels before processing Discrete Wavelet Transform decoding. This allows attackers to trigger out-of-bounds array access via specially crafted JPEG 2000 files, leading to denial of service or potentially other unspecified impact.

MitigationUpgrade to FFmpeg 2.8.4 or later, which includes proper validation of decomposition levels in the DWT decoder. Until upgraded, avoid processing untrusted JPEG 2000 files.

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:<= 2.8.3

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
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
Low

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L

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. Check installed FFmpeg version
    Run 'ffmpeg -version' and note the version number displayed in the output
    Affected if The version listed is 2.8.3 or lower, or if 'ffmpeg -version' fails because the binary is missing or inaccessible
  2. Verify JPEG 2000 decoding capability
    Run 'ffmpeg -codecs 2>&1 | grep -i "j2k\|jpeg2000\|jpeg 2000"' to check if j2k or jpeg2000 decoders are available
    Affected if The j2k decoder is listed as available (indicates the vulnerable code path could be reached)
  3. Confirm libavcodec version
    Run 'ffmpeg -version 2>&1' and look for the libavcodec version in the output (typically shown as 'libavcodec version XX.YY.Z'), then compare that to 2.8.4
    Affected if The libavcodec version is 56.60.100 or lower (which corresponds to FFmpeg 2.8.3 and below)

A system is affected if FFmpeg version 2.8.3 or earlier is installed AND the j2k/jpeg2000 decoder is available in the build, allowing processing of specially crafted JPEG 2000 files to trigger the vulnerability.

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 2.8.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to FFmpeg 2.8.4 or later, which includes proper validation of decomposition levels in the DWT decoder. Until upgraded, avoid processing untrusted JPEG 2000 files.

Fix this in Ffmpeg Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,080
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,328.

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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-2015-8662 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