CVE-2016-9810
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 gst_decode_chain_free_internal function in the flxdex decoder in gst-plugins-good in GStreamer before 1.10.2 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (invalid memory read and crash) via an invalid file, which triggers an incorrect unref call.
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 management vulnerability exists in the flxdec (FLIC video file) decoder in GStreamer gst-plugins-good. When processing a malformed or invalid FLIC file, the gst_decode_chain_free_internal function performs an incorrect unref (reference decrement) operation, leading to an invalid memory read and process crash, resulting in denial of service.
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<= 1.10.1CVSS 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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Check installed GStreamer versionRun `gst-inspect-1.0 --version` or check your system's package manager for gstreamer version (e.g., `dpkg -l libgstreamer*` on Debian/Ubuntu, `rpm -q gstreamer` on RHEL/CentOS)Affected if Version is 1.10.1 or earlier (any version <= 1.10.1)
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Verify flxdec plugin is presentRun `gst-inspect-1.0 flxdec` to confirm the FLIC decoder plugin is installed and availableAffected if The plugin loads successfully (indicates the vulnerable component is present)
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Identify FLIC file processing in your environmentSearch for applications or scripts that process .fli or .flc files using GStreamer pipelines (look for 'flxdec' in gst-launch commands or check if any media processing handles FLIC animation files)Affected if Any application processes FLIC files through GStreamer's flxdec decoder
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Audit active GStreamer pipelinesIf you run GStreamer-based media servers or transcoding services, review pipeline configurations for flxdec elements; check logs for FLIC-related decoding activityAffected if FLIC file decoding is actively used in your media pipelines
You are affected if GStreamer version is 1.10.1 or earlier AND your environment processes FLIC animation files through the flxdec decoder.
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 GStreamer to version 1.10.2 or later which contains the corrected flxdec plugin. If upgrading is not feasible, implement input validation on FLIC files before passing them to the decoder to reject malformed files.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 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 $2,832.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-9810 — 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-2016-9810 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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