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Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian

CVE-2020-22023

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-05-27
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
95/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges

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
A heap-based Buffer Overflow vulnerabililty exists in FFmpeg 4.2 in filter_frame at libavfilter/vf_bitplanenoise.c, which might lead to memory corruption and other potential consequences.

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

A heap-based buffer overflow exists in FFmpeg 4.2's video filter component (libavfilter/vf_bitplanenoise.c) within the filter_frame function. This occurs when processing bitplane noise, where insufficient bounds checking allows writing beyond allocated heap memory, potentially leading to memory corruption and arbitrary code execution.

MitigationUpgrade FFmpeg to version 4.3 or later which contains the fix, or apply a targeted patch to add proper bounds validation in the filter_frame function of vf_bitplanenoise.c before processing video frame data.

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
Affected:= 9.0= 10.0
FfmpegApplication
Affected:= 4.2

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
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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 checks

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

  1. Check if FFmpeg is installed
    Run `ffmpeg -version` or check package manager for ffmpeg package (dpkg -l | grep ffmpeg, rpm -qa | grep ffmpeg, etc.)
    Affected if FFmpeg is not installed, then not affected. If installed, proceed to next step.
  2. Identify installed FFmpeg version
    Run `ffmpeg -version` and examine the version number in the output (format typically: ffmpeg version X.Y.Z)
    Affected if Version is 4.2.x (specifically 4.2, 4.2.1, 4.2.2, 4.2.3, 4.2.4, 4.2.5, 4.2.6, 4.2.7) - proceed to next step. Versions 4.3 and later are not affected.
  3. Check for bitplanenoise filter usage in processing pipelines
    Review any FFmpeg command lines, scripts, or configurations that process video and look for the 'bitplanenoise' video filter being applied (e.g., -vf bitplanenoise or using libavfilter in code)
    Affected if The bitplanenoise filter is being actively used to process video data, proceed to next step. If not used, user is not affected by this specific vulnerability.
  4. Verify affected Debian distribution if applicable
    If running Debian, check version with `cat /etc/debian_version` - versions 9.0 (Stretch) and 10.0 (Buster) ship with FFmpeg 4.2
    Affected if Running Debian 9.0 or 10.0 and using the system-provided FFmpeg package, likely running vulnerable version 4.2.

User is affected if they are running FFmpeg version 4.2.x and actively processing video with the bitplanenoise filter, particularly on Debian 9.0 or 10.0 systems where FFmpeg 4.2 is the default package.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade FFmpeg to version 4.3 or later which contains the fix, or apply a targeted patch to add proper bounds validation in the filter_frame function of vf_bitplanenoise.c before processing video frame data.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

FFmpeg 4.3 or later (fixed release)

  1. Identify the current FFmpeg version installed: ffmpeg -version
  2. For Debian 9.0 (stretch) and Debian 10.0 (buster), check if security updates are available via: apt-get update && apt-get upgrade ffmpeg
  3. If upstream FFmpeg packages are in use, upgrade to a version newer than 4.2 (such as 4.3 or later) which contains the fix for the heap-based buffer overflow in libavfilter/vf_bitplanenoise.c
  4. Verify the fix by checking the updated version: ffmpeg -version
  5. Test that video filtering operations involving bitplanenoise functionality work correctly after the upgrade
Caveat Upgrading FFmpeg may introduce changes to encoding parameters, API behavior, or remove deprecated filters; test critical workflows before production deployment

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

Fix this in Debian Linux Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,560
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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-2020-22023 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
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