CVE-2017-9218
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 mp4ff_read_stsd function in common/mp4ff/mp4atom.c in Freeware Advanced Audio Decoder 2 (FAAD2) 2.7 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (invalid memory read and application crash) via a crafted mp4 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 bounds check vulnerability exists in the mp4ff_read_stsd function in FAAD2's mp4atom.c when parsing the Sample Description Box (stsd) of MP4 files. A crafted MP4 file with malformed atom data triggers an invalid memory read, 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= 2.7CVSS 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 FAAD2 installation and versionCheck the FAAD2 library or binary version using 'faad --version' on Linux, or right-click the faad2 DLL/executable and view Properties > Details on Windows. Package managers can be queried: dpkg -l | grep faad2, rpm -qa | grep faad2, or brew list faad2Affected if The installed version is exactly 2.7 (check the full version string, as some distributions backport fixes to 2.7.x versions)
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Confirm MP4 processing capability is in useIdentify whether any application linked against libfaad2 is used to decode or parse MP4 files. Check running processes, installed media players, or transcoding tools that depend on FAAD2. Review application dependencies or ldd output on Linux for faad2 library linkageAffected if An application that parses MP4 containers using FAAD2 is installed and processes audio tracks from MP4 files
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Determine source of MP4 filesAudit the environment for MP4 file sources: check directories where users may upload or drop files, download folders, media shares, or any location from which FAAD2 might process files. Identify if files originate from untrusted or external sourcesAffected if FAAD2 processes MP4 files from sources outside your trusted content pipeline, or any MP4 files from users or external systems are fed to the decoder
You are affected if FAAD2 version 2.7 is installed and processes MP4 files, especially from untrusted sources, as the vulnerability triggers during stsd box parsing with malformed atom data.
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 FAAD2 to a version that includes bounds checking in the mp4ff_read_stsd function, or implement file validation before processing.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 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 $3,328.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-9218 — 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-2017-9218 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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- 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
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