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GstreamerApplication

CVE-2026-3081

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-03-16
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.28.1 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
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 H.266 Codec Parser Stack-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 decoding units. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of the length of user-supplied data prior to copying it to a fixed-length stack-based buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-28839.

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

Stack-based buffer overflow in GStreamer's H.266 (VVC) codec parser during decoding unit parsing. The vulnerability results from insufficient validation of user-supplied data length before copying into a fixed-size stack buffer, enabling RCE in the current process context.

MitigationUpdate GStreamer to the latest version containing the patch for ZDI-CAN-28839. If no patch available, consider disabling H.266 codec support or implementing input validation/monitoring at the application layer until an update is released.

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:< 1.28.1

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
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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 version
    Run `gst-inspect-1.0 --version` or `gst-launch-1.0 --version` to obtain the installed GStreamer core version number
    Affected if The reported version is lower than 1.28.1 (e.g., 1.28.0, 1.26.x, 1.24.x, etc.)
  2. Locate GStreamer plugin directory
    Run `gst-inspect-1.0 -v 2>/dev/null | head -5` to identify the plugin path, typically /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/gstreamer-1.0/ or /usr/lib/gstreamer-1.0/
    Affected if GStreamer is installed and plugins are accessible
  3. Check for H.266/VVC support modules
    Run `gst-inspect-1.0 | grep -i vvc` to enumerate any installed VVC-related plugins such as vvcdisplay, vvcdec, or vvcparse
    Affected if VVC-related plugins are listed and loadable, indicating H.266/VVC parsing capability is present in the environment
  4. Confirm VVC parser is loaded by default
    Inspect the GStreamer registry with `gst-inspect-1.0 -b` to see if vvcparse or similar VVC components are auto-loaded during normal pipeline initialization
    Affected if VVC parsing components appear in the registry or are loaded when processing media pipelines

You are affected if GStreamer version is below 1.28.1 AND the H.266/VVC parser plugin (vvcparse or vvcdisplay) is installed and available for use in your GStreamer environment.

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 1.28.1 or later
Fixed in 1.28.1
Interim mitigation

Update GStreamer to the latest version containing the patch for ZDI-CAN-28839. If no patch available, consider disabling H.266 codec support or implementing input validation/monitoring at the application layer until an update is released.

Recommended fix High confidence

1.28.1

  1. Check current GStreamer version using 'gst-inspect-1.0 --version' or your system's package manager
  2. Upgrade GStreamer to version 1.28.1 or later using your system's package manager (e.g., apt-get update && apt-get install libgstreamer1.0-dev gstreamer1.0-plugins-* on Debian/Ubuntu, or yum/dnf update on RHEL/Fedora)
  3. Verify the upgraded version is 1.28.1 or higher using 'gst-inspect-1.0 --version'
  4. Restart any applications or services that use GStreamer to ensure the patched version is loaded
Caveat Minor release upgrade; should not introduce breaking changes but test your application after upgrading

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

Fix this in Gstreamer 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
Get the upgrade done

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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-2026-3081 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data