Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian
CVE-2019-13602
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 · uneditedAn Integer Underflow in MP4_EIA608_Convert() in modules/demux/mp4/mp4.c in VideoLAN VLC media player through 3.0.7.1 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (heap-based buffer overflow and crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact 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 confidenceAn integer underflow vulnerability in the MP4_EIA608_Convert() function within VLC's MP4 demuxer (modules/demux/mp4/mp4.c) allows a specially crafted MP4 file to trigger a heap-based buffer overflow, potentially causing denial of service or unspecified other impact.
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
Debian LinuxOperating system
= 9.0= 10.0
Ubuntu LinuxOperating system
= 18.04= 19.04<= 3.0.7.1= 15.0= 15.0= 15.1CVSS 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
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify VLC is installedRun 'vlc --version' or 'cvlc --version' on the system. On Debian/Ubuntu, also check with 'dpkg -l | grep vlc'. On openSUSE, use 'rpm -qa | grep -i vlc'.Affected if VLC media player is present on the system
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Determine the installed VLC versionParse the version output from 'vlc --version'. Look for the version number in the format 3.x.x or similar.Affected if The version is 3.0.7.1 or earlier, or the version cannot be determined but VLC is present
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Confirm the MP4 demuxer module is availableThe MP4 demuxer is built into VLC (modules/demux/mp4/mp4.c). Check that the application can process MP4 files by attempting to identify an MP4 file with 'vlc --intf dummy --play-and-exit --video-on-top no <mp4file>' or checking for the mp4 demuxer module in VLC's plugin cache.Affected if The system can process MP4 files through VLC's demuxer component
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Check for MP4 file handling capabilityVerify that VLC has the MP4 demuxer compiled in or loaded. On Linux, check for libmp4.so in the VLC plugins directory (typically /usr/lib/vlc/plugins or /usr/lib64/vlc/plugins).Affected if The MP4 demuxer plugin or module is present and functional in the VLC installation
The environment is affected if VLC media player version 3.0.7.1 or earlier is installed and the MP4 demuxer module is available for processing MP4 files.
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 dataUsers should avoid opening untrusted or unknown MP4 files with vulnerable VLC versions until the vendor patch is applied; organizations should implement file-type validation at network boundaries and consider deploying updated VLC versions (3.0.8 or later) across the environment.
Fix this in Debian Linux
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing5.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,208.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-13602 — 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-2019-13602 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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