Stack-based Buffer OverflowWeakness · CWE-121

CVE-2020-37000

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-01-29
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Public exploit 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
Free MP3 CD Ripper 2.8 contains a stack buffer overflow vulnerability that allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by crafting a malicious WAV file with oversized payload. Attackers can leverage a specially crafted exploit file with shellcode, SEH bypass, and egghunter technique to achieve remote code execution on vulnerable Windows systems.

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

Free MP3 CD Ripper 2.8 contains a stack buffer overflow vulnerability when parsing WAV files. Attackers can exploit this by crafting a malicious WAV file with an oversized payload containing shellcode, SEH bypass, and egghunter techniques to achieve remote code execution on vulnerable Windows systems.

MitigationUsers should avoid opening WAV files from untrusted sources and ensure antivirus software is active. The vendor should release a patch that implements proper bounds checking during WAV file parsing.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

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:3.1/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. Verify Free MP3 CD Ripper is installed
    Check for the application in Program Files (typically C:\Program Files\Free MP3 CD Ripper) or via Add/Remove Programs. Also check for running processes named 'freemp3cdripper.exe' or similar.
    Affected if The software is installed and running on the system
  2. Determine the installed version
    Right-click the executable (freemp3cdripper.exe) in the installation directory, select Properties, and check the Version tab. Alternatively, view the file properties in Windows Explorer.
    Affected if The version number is at or below 2.8 (the vulnerable version listed in the CVE)
  3. Confirm WAV file parsing capability is present
    Launch the application and attempt to load or preview a standard WAV audio file. The vulnerability triggers specifically during WAV file parsing.
    Affected if The application successfully parses WAV files (this is the default functionality that contains the flaw)
  4. Inspect for suspicious WAV files
    Check user download folders and recent documents for unfamiliar or unexpected WAV files, especially from untrusted sources. Review file sizes - oversized WAV files may indicate exploit attempts.
    Affected if Unusually large WAV files are present that were obtained from untrusted sources

A user is affected if Free MP3 CD Ripper version 2.8 or lower is installed and can parse WAV files, particularly when opening files from untrusted sources.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Users should avoid opening WAV files from untrusted sources and ensure antivirus software is active. The vendor should release a patch that implements proper bounds checking during WAV file parsing.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
25.0 hours of engineering $4,400
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-37000 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-37000 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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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