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LibmadApplication · Underbit

CVE-2018-7263

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-02-20
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 0.15.1b or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
The mad_decoder_run() function in decoder.c in Underbit libmad through 0.15.1b allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (SIGABRT because of double free or corruption) or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted file. NOTE: this may overlap CVE-2017-11552.

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 confidence

The mad_decoder_run() function in decoder.c in Underbit libmad through version 0.15.1b contains a double-free or memory corruption vulnerability. When processing a specially crafted MP3 file, the function attempts to free the same memory pointer twice, causing SIGABRT and denial of service. The critical CVSS 9.8 score indicates potential for arbitrary code execution beyond DoS.

MitigationUpdate libmad to the latest patched version or apply available security patches. If immediate patching is not feasible, ensure untrusted MP3 files are not processed by applications using the vulnerable libmad library.

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
LibmadApplication
Affected:<= 0.15.1b

CVSS 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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify if libmad is installed
    Search for libmad library files on the system. Common paths include /usr/lib/libmad.so*, /usr/local/lib/libmad.so*, or check package manager (dpkg -l | grep libmad, rpm -qa | grep libmad, brew list libmad)
    Affected if libmad library files are found on the system and version is 0.15.1b or lower
  2. Determine the installed libmad version
    Use commands like: dpkg -l | grep libmad, rpm -qi libmad, or check the library file directly with strings/libmad.so.* | grep -i version, or read the library metadata
    Affected if Version is 0.15.1b or any version <= 0.15.1b
  3. Identify applications using libmad
    Search for applications that link to libmad: ldd /path/to/application | grep libmad, or scan /usr/bin, /usr/sbin, /opt for binaries that depend on libmad.so
    Affected if Any application linked against libmad is found on the system
  4. Check if applications process external MP3 files
    Review application configurations, logs, or source code to determine if the libmad-dependent application processes MP3 files from untrusted or external sources (user uploads, network streams, etc.)
    Affected if Applications using libmad accept or process MP3 files from users, network sources, or untrusted input

If libmad version 0.15.1b or lower is present AND any application using it processes external or untrusted MP3 files, the environment is vulnerable to CVE-2018-7263.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 0.15.1b
Interim mitigation

Update libmad to the latest patched version or apply available security patches. If immediate patching is not feasible, ensure untrusted MP3 files are not processed by applications using the vulnerable libmad library.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest version available from your Linux distribution's repositories (distributions typically backport security patches to their packaged versions)

  1. Check your current libmad version using your system's package manager (e.g., `dpkg -l libmad0` on Debian/Ubuntu or `rpm -q libmad` on RHEL/CentOS)
  2. Update libmad package to the latest version available in your distribution's repositories using: `apt-get update && apt-get install libmad0` (Debian/Ubuntu) or `yum update libmad` (RHEL/CentOS)
  3. Verify the update was successful by checking the installed version
  4. If your distribution no longer provides updates for libmad, consider switching to a maintained fork such as libmad from the Libav/FFmpeg project or a modern alternative like libmp3lame
  5. Test audio playback functionality after updating to ensure no regressions
Caveat Minimal risk - this is a security patch; however, if using an outdated application that depends on specific libmad behavior, test thoroughly after updating

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Libmad Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,060
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-7263 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data