Code InjectionWeakness · CWE-94

CVE-2025-25467

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-02-18
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
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
Insufficient tracking and releasing of allocated used memory in libx264 git master allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via creating a crafted AAC 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 · moderate confidence

A memory management vulnerability in libx264 master branch involves insufficient tracking and releasing of allocated memory, allowing attackers to achieve arbitrary code execution by supplying a crafted AAC file to the encoder library.

MitigationUsers should avoid processing untrusted AAC files with development versions of libx264 and monitor for stable releases that address this memory management flaw; consider input validation and sandboxing as defense-in-depth until patched.

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. Locate libx264 library on the system
    Search for libx264 files: 'find / -name "libx264*" 2>/dev/null' on Linux, or check common library paths like /usr/lib/, /usr/local/lib/, or within application directories on Windows
    Affected if libx264 library file is found on the system
  2. Identify the installed libx264 version
    Run 'pkg-config --modversion x264' or 'x264 --version' if the CLI tool is available; alternatively, inspect the library file name which may contain the version (e.g., libx264.so.164)
    Affected if The version number cannot be determined or is older than the patched version (when known)
  3. Determine if applications use libx264 for AAC audio processing
    Review application documentation or configuration to confirm whether libx264 is used for muxing/demuxing AAC audio files; check process memory or runtime dependencies with 'ldd <application>' or 'lsof' during AAC processing
    Affected if libx264 is linked to applications that handle AAC audio files
  4. Verify if processing of untrusted AAC files is permitted
    Review application or system settings for AAC file handling; check if there are input validation controls or if applications accept AAC files from network sources or user uploads
    Affected if Applications accept and process AAC files from untrusted or external sources without validation

The system is affected if libx264 is installed, handles AAC files, and processes content from untrusted sources, especially when the libx264 version is older than the patched release.

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 processing untrusted AAC files with development versions of libx264 and monitor for stable releases that address this memory management flaw; consider input validation and sandboxing as defense-in-depth until patched.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,800
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2025-25467 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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