dbcve.org
Vlc Media PlayerApplication · Videolan

CVE-2023-46814

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-11-22
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.0.19 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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
A binary hijacking vulnerability exists within the VideoLAN VLC media player before 3.0.19 on Windows. The uninstaller attempts to execute code with elevated privileges out of a standard user writable location. Standard users may use this to gain arbitrary code execution as SYSTEM.

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

The VLC media player uninstaller on Windows attempts to execute code with elevated (SYSTEM) privileges from a location that standard users can write to. This allows a local standard user to place malicious code in that directory, which will be executed with SYSTEM privileges during the uninstallation process, achieving privilege escalation.

MitigationUpgrade VLC media player to version 3.0.19 or later on all Windows systems to remediate the binary hijacking vulnerability in the uninstaller.

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
Vlc Media PlayerApplication
Affected:< 3.0.19

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 VLC is installed on Windows
    Check for VLC installation in the Windows registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\VideoLAN\VLC, or look for VLC in Program Files (e.g., C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC), or run: wmic product where "name like 'VLC%'" get name,version
    Affected if VLC Media Player is found installed on the system
  2. Identify the installed VLC version
    Read the InstallVersion value from the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\VideoLAN\VLC, or right-click the VLC executable in Program Files and view Properties > Details to see the File Version
    Affected if A version number is retrieved from the installation
  3. Compare version against affected range
    Compare the installed version number to 3.0.19. Version numbers follow the format major.minor.patch (e.g., 3.0.18, 3.0.19, 3.0.20)
    Affected if The installed version is less than 3.0.19 (for example, 3.0.18, 3.0.17, or any 3.0.x version prior to 3.0.19)

A Windows user is affected if VLC Media Player version 3.0.18 or earlier is currently installed on their system, because the uninstaller for these versions contains the privilege escalation vulnerability.

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 3.0.19 or later
Fixed in 3.0.19
Interim mitigation

Upgrade VLC media player to version 3.0.19 or later on all Windows systems to remediate the binary hijacking vulnerability in the uninstaller.

Recommended fix High confidence

VLC Media Player 3.0.19 or later

  1. 1. Navigate to the official VideoLAN VLC Media Player download page at https://www.videolan.org/vlc/
  2. 2. Download the latest Windows installer (version 3.0.19 or later)
  3. 3. Verify the installer integrity using the SHA256 hash provided on the download page if available
  4. 4. Close any running VLC Media Player instances
  5. 5. Run the downloaded installer and follow the prompts to update VLC Media Player
  6. 6. After installation completes, verify the installed version by opening VLC and checking Help > About (or pressing Ctrl+I) to confirm version 3.0.19 or later is installed

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

Fix this in Vlc Media Player Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-46814 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2023-46814 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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