CVE-2017-9220
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_stco function in common/mp4ff/mp4atom.c in Freeware Advanced Audio Decoder 2 (FAAD2) 2.7 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory allocation error) 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 · moderate confidenceA memory allocation error exists in the mp4ff_read_stco function in FAAD2 2.7 when parsing the stco (chunk offset) atom in MP4 files. A specially crafted MP4 file with malicious stco data can cause the memory allocation to fail, resulting in a denial of service condition.
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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Check installed FAAD2 versionRun 'faad --version' or check via package manager (dpkg -l | grep faad, rpm -qa | grep faad2, brew list faad2)Affected if Version displayed is 2.7 exactly
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Identify FAAD2 library fileLocate libfaad.so or libfaad.dylib (common paths: /usr/lib/, /usr/local/lib/, /opt/) and check version via 'strings <library> | grep -i version' or 'file <library>'Affected if Library version resolves to 2.7
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Verify MP4 processing capabilityConfirm faad binary or library can decode MP4 files - check for faad.conf or test with 'faad -i <anymp4>'Affected if FAAD2 is able to parse MP4 container metadata including stco atoms
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Confirm stco atom parsing occursWhen FAAD2 opens an MP4 file, it reads the stco (chunk offset) atom to locate media data; this is triggered automatically on MP4 file openAffected if The library processes MP4 files and parses their atom structure (stco is a standard MP4 atom)
You are affected if FAAD2 version 2.7 is installed and is used to decode MP4 files, as the vulnerability triggers during stco atom parsing in any MP4 file processing.
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 FAAD2 to a patched version if available, or implement input validation on MP4 files before processing. Avoid processing untrusted MP4 files with the affected version.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-9220 — 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-2017-9220 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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