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GstreamerApplication

CVE-2023-37328

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-05-03
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.20.7 / 1.22.4 or later.
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
GStreamer PGS File Parsing Heap-based Buffer Overflow Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of GStreamer. Interaction with this library is required to exploit this vulnerability but attack vectors may vary depending on the implementation. The specific flaw exists within the parsing of PGS subtitle files. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of the length of user-supplied data prior to copying it to a heap-based buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. . Was ZDI-CAN-20994.

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 confidence

Heap-based buffer overflow in GStreamer's PGS (Presentation Graphic Stream) subtitle parser. The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of user-supplied data length before copying into heap-allocated buffers during PGS file parsing, allowing attackers to overwrite adjacent memory and achieve arbitrary code execution.

MitigationUpdate GStreamer to the latest patched version. If patching is not immediately possible, restrict processing of untrusted PGS subtitle files or run GStreamer in an isolated sandbox environment to limit exploitation 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
GstreamerApplication
Affected:< 1.20.7>= 1.22.0, < 1.22.4

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. Identify GStreamer installation and version
    Run 'gst-inspect-1.0 --version' or check your system's package manager for the installed GStreamer core package version
    Affected if The installed version is less than 1.20.7, or is 1.22.0 through 1.22.3
  2. Locate PGS subtitle parsing components
    Run 'gst-inspect-1.0 | grep -i pgs' or 'gst-inspect-1.0 subparse' to identify if PGS parsing elements (subparse or dedicated PGS plugins) are available on the system
    Affected if PGS parsing elements are present on the system
  3. Determine if PGS subtitle processing is active
    Monitor process execution or inspect pipeline configurations (via GST_DEBUG logs or application code) for usage of PGS subtitle decoding in media pipelines
    Affected if Applications or services are actively parsing PGS subtitle files from untrusted sources
  4. Audit processing of subtitle files
    Review logs, application configurations, or file access patterns for .pgs or .sup subtitle file handling in media processing workflows
    Affected if Untrusted PGS subtitle files are being processed by GStreamer-based applications

A system is affected if it runs a GStreamer version in the vulnerable range and processes PGS subtitle files from untrusted or user-supplied 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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 1.20.7 / 1.22.4 or later
Fixed in 1.20.71.22.4
Interim mitigation

Update GStreamer to the latest patched version. If patching is not immediately possible, restrict processing of untrusted PGS subtitle files or run GStreamer in an isolated sandbox environment to limit exploitation impact.

Recommended fix High confidence

GStreamer 1.20.7+ or 1.22.4+

  1. Identify the current GStreamer version installed (e.g., using `gst-inspect-1.0 --version` or checking package manager)
  2. Determine which GStreamer release branch is in use (1.20.x or 1.22.x)
  3. For systems using GStreamer 1.20.x: upgrade to version 1.20.7 or later
  4. For systems using GStreamer 1.22.x: upgrade to version 1.22.4 or later
  5. Update via package manager (e.g., `apt-get update && apt-get install libgstreamer1.0-dev gstreamer1.0-plugins-base gstreamer1.0-plugins-good` on Debian/Ubuntu, or `dnf update gstreamer*` on Fedora/RHEL)
  6. Verify the updated version using `gst-inspect-1.0 --version`

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

Fix this in Gstreamer Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,640
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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-2023-37328 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