Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian
CVE-2016-7424
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 put_no_rnd_pixels8_xy2_mmx function in x86/rnd_template.c in libav 11.7 and earlier allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and crash) via a crafted MP3 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 confidenceA NULL pointer dereference vulnerability exists in the put_no_rnd_pixels8_xy2_mmx MMX-optimized function in libav versions 11.7 and earlier. When processing a specially crafted MP3 file, the function fails to properly validate a pointer before dereferencing it, causing the application to 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
Debian LinuxOperating system
= 8.0<= 11.7CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/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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Identify installed libav versionRun 'avconv -version' or 'ffmpeg -version' to display the library version. On Debian, also check with 'dpkg -l | grep libav' or inspect /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libav*.so files with 'ldd --version' or check the shared object metadata.Affected if The reported version is 11.7 or any version number lower than 11.7
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Confirm libav library presenceSearch for libavcodec, libavutil, or libavformat shared objects in the system library paths using 'find /usr -name "libav*" -type f 2>/dev/null' or check with 'ldconfig -p | grep libav'.Affected if libav libraries exist on the system, indicating the vulnerable code may be loaded
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Verify MP3 decoding capabilityCheck if the libav installation includes MP3 decoding support by attempting to probe an MP3 file with 'avconv -i test.mp3' or reviewing the compiled codec support via 'avconv -codecs 2>/dev/null | grep mp3'.Affected if libav is configured to decode MP3 files, which activates the vulnerable code path when processing MP3 content
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Detect MMX optimization usageInspect whether the system processor supports and the application is using MMX extensions by checking /proc/cpuinfo for 'mmx' flags, though this only indicates potential use rather than definite activation of the vulnerable code path.Affected if The vulnerable put_no_rnd_pixels8_xy2_mmx function is invoked during MP3 processing with MMX optimization enabled
A system is affected if it runs libav version 11.7 or earlier and processes MP3 files using the MMX-optimized code path, causing a crash when a specially crafted MP3 is decoded.
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 dataUpdate libav to a version beyond 11.7 that includes the patched code, or migrate to the actively-maintained FFmpeg fork which contains the fix. Avoid processing untrusted MP3 files with vulnerable library versions.
Fix this in Debian Linux
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,096.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-7424 — 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-2016-7424 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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