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FfmpegApplication

CVE-2016-8595

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-12-23
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 3.1.4 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges

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 gsm_parse function in libavcodec/gsm_parser.c in FFmpeg before 3.1.5 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (assert fault) via a crafted AVI 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 confidence

The gsm_parse function in libavcodec/gsm_parser.c in FFmpeg before 3.1.5 contains an assertion that can be triggered by a specially crafted AVI file, causing the application to crash and resulting in a denial of service.

MitigationUpdate FFmpeg to version 3.1.5 or later to obtain the patched gsm_parser.c that properly handles malformed AVI files without triggering assertion failures.

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:<= 3.1.4

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
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 checks

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

  1. Determine FFmpeg version
    Run 'ffmpeg -version' and locate the version number in the output (e.g., 'ffmpeg version 3.1.4' or similar)
    Affected if The reported version is 3.1.4 or any earlier version (e.g., 3.1.3, 3.1.2, 3.0.x, etc.)
  2. Identify if GSM parsing is in use
    Inspect any media processing workflows or scripts that use ffmpeg to confirm they process AVI container files containing GSM audio codec
    Affected if The environment processes AVI files that contain GSM-encoded audio streams using the vulnerable parser
  3. Verify the gsm_parser module exists
    Check for the presence of libavcodec/gsm_parser.c in the ffmpeg source or check if the GSM parser is compiled into the ffmpeg binary (ffmpeg -codecs | grep gsm)
    Affected if The GSM parser module is compiled and available for processing GSM audio in AVI files
  4. Confirm vulnerable code path
    Attempt to parse a malformed AVI file with GSM audio through ffmpeg to observe if an assertion failure occurs (ffmpeg -i malformed_avi_file.avi -f null - 2>&1)
    Affected if The application crashes with an assertion error related to gsm_parser when processing specially crafted AVI files containing GSM audio

A user is affected if they run FFmpeg version 3.1.4 or earlier and process AVI files that contain GSM-encoded audio, which can trigger the assertion failure in gsm_parser.c leading to denial of service.

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 3.1.4
Interim mitigation

Update FFmpeg to version 3.1.5 or later to obtain the patched gsm_parser.c that properly handles malformed AVI files without triggering assertion failures.

Fix this in Ffmpeg Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,190
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,904.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2016-8595 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