CVE-2018-14543
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 · uneditedThere exists one NULL pointer dereference vulnerability in AP4_JsonInspector::AddField in Ap4Atom.cpp in Bento4 1.5.1-624, which can allow attackers to cause a denial-of-service via a crafted mp4 file. This vulnerability can be triggered by the executable mp4dump.
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 NULL pointer dereference vulnerability exists in the AP4_JsonInspector::AddField function within Ap4Atom.cpp of Bento4 version 1.5.1-624. When the mp4dump executable processes a specially crafted MP4 file, it attempts to dereference a NULL pointer during JSON field addition, causing a denial-of-service condition via application 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= 1.5.1-624CVSS 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 if Bento4 is installedRun 'which mp4dump' or 'where mp4dump' to locate the mp4dump executable, or check common installation paths like /usr/local/bin/, /usr/bin/, or installation directories on Windows.Affected if mp4dump executable is found on the system
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Determine the installed Bento4 versionRun 'mp4dump --version' or check the library files (libap4.so, Ap4.dll, etc.) for version information. On some systems, 'dpkg -l | grep bento4' or 'rpm -qa | grep bento4' may reveal the package version.Affected if The version is exactly 1.5.1-624
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Verify mp4dump is accessible to the userCheck file permissions on the mp4dump executable with 'ls -la' and confirm the current user has execute permissions.Affected if The user can execute mp4dump and the executable is present
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Confirm processing of MP4 files is possibleAttempt to run 'mp4dump --help' to verify the tool is functional and accepts MP4 file arguments.Affected if mp4dump runs and accepts MP4 file input
A user is affected if Bento4 version 1.5.1-624 is installed with the mp4dump executable available, and they process specially crafted MP4 files with this tool.
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 dataProcess untrusted MP4 files in an isolated sandbox environment to limit exposure. Implement proper NULL pointer validation in the AddField function before dereferencing, and validate MP4 atom structures before processing.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 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 $2,800.
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-14543 — 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-2018-14543 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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