CVE-2016-7555
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 avi_read_header function in libavformat/avidec.c in FFmpeg before 3.1.4 is vulnerable to memory leak when decoding an AVI file that has a crafted "strh" structure.
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 memory leak exists in FFmpeg's avi_read_header function in libavformat/avidec.c when parsing AVI files with a malformed 'strh' (stream header) structure. The vulnerability allows an attacker to cause uncontrolled memory allocation by tricking a user into processing a specially crafted AVI file, potentially leading to resource exhaustion.
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<= 3.1.3CVSS 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
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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.
-
Check installed FFmpeg versionRun 'ffmpeg -version' or 'ffmpeg -version | head -n1' to display the version stringAffected if The version number displayed is 3.1.3 or lower
-
Check libavformat library versionRun 'ffmpeg -version 2>&1 | grep -i libavformat' or check the shared library file version in /usr/lib/ or /usr/local/lib/ (e.g., ls -la libavformat*)Affected if The libavformat version is 57.x.x or lower, corresponding to FFmpeg 3.1.3 or earlier
-
Verify AVI demuxer is availableRun 'ffmpeg -formats 2>/dev/null | grep -i avi' or 'ffmpeg -demuxers 2>&1 | grep -i avi' to list available AVI demuxersAffected if AVI demuxer is listed as available, indicating the vulnerable code path could be reached
-
Identify processes handling AVI filesRun 'ps aux | grep ffmpeg' or 'lsof | grep -i avi' to find running processes or open files related to AVI processingAffected if Any FFmpeg process is currently processing or has recently processed AVI files from untrusted sources
-
Check for AVI-related code in custom FFmpeg buildsIf using a custom build, inspect the source file libavformat/avidec.c around the avi_read_header function for the 'strh' parsing logic and look for missing memory free calls after error conditionsAffected if The code shows that memory allocated for stream headers is not properly freed on malformed 'strh' structures (pre-patch code)
-
Review AVI file processing logsCheck application logs, system logs (journalctl, /var/log/messages), or FFmpeg's own verbose output (-loglevel verbose) for any AVI file processing activityAffected if Logs show AVI file processing from potentially untrusted sources without evidence of upgraded FFmpeg version
A user is affected if they are running FFmpeg version 3.1.3 or earlier and process AVI files from untrusted sources using the AVI demuxer.
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 FFmpeg version 3.1.4 or later to obtain the patched version. Until then, avoid processing AVI files from untrusted sources.
- 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-2016-7555 — 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-2016-7555 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
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.
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.
- 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