CVE-2017-9257
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_ctts function in common/mp4ff/mp4atom.c in Freeware Advanced Audio Decoder 2 (FAAD2) 2.7 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (large loop and CPU consumption) 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 confidenceThe mp4ff_read_ctts function in FAAD2 2.7's mp4atom.c fails to properly validate loop boundaries when parsing the ctts (composition time-to-sample) atom in MP4 files. A crafted MP4 file with a malformed ctts atom causes an uncontrolled loop, leading to excessive CPU consumption and 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= 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 library installationRun 'faad -v' or check package manager for faad2/aac decoder package versionAffected if FAAD2 version is exactly 2.7 (confirm with 'faad -v' output showing 2.7)
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Check for FAAD2 library in use by other softwareSearch for libfaad files (find /usr -name '*faad*' 2>/dev/null or similar) and check linked applications for FAAD2 dependencyAffected if Any application links to libfaad.so at version 2.7
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Verify MP4 file processing capabilityIdentify applications or scripts that process MP4 files using FAAD2 - check for MP4 demuxing/decoding workflowsAffected if The environment has tools or applications that decode MP4 files using FAAD2
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Examine ctts atom parsing exposureSince the vulnerability triggers when parsing the ctts atom, determine if any MP4 files are processed - this is the code path that uses mp4ff_read_ctts in mp4atom.cAffected if MP4 files containing ctts atoms are processed by FAAD2 2.7
A system is affected if FAAD2 version 2.7 is installed and processes MP4 files with the ctts (composition time-to-sample) atom present.
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 patched version that includes proper bounds checking in the ctts atom parser, or validate MP4 files before processing to reject files with abnormal ctts atom structures.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-9257 — 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-2017-9257 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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