CVE-2026-53702
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 · uneditedA stack buffer overflow flaw was found in the GStreamer H.265 codec parser library (gst-plugins-bad). When parsing a buffering period SEI message, the parser uses an incorrect loop bound derived from cpb_cnt_minus1[i] (the loop index) instead of the sub-layer 0 CPB count cpb_cnt_minus1[0] from the referenced Sequence Parameter Set. A crafted H.265 video file or stream can cause the parser to write beyond the bounds of stack-allocated CPB delay arrays, resulting in a crash or potential stack memory corruption.
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 confidenceA stack buffer overflow exists in GStreamer's H.265 parser (gst-plugins-bad) when processing buffering period SEI messages. The parser incorrectly uses cpb_cnt_minus1[i] (the loop iteration counter) as the loop bound instead of the correct cpb_cnt_minus1[0] value from the referenced SPS, causing out-of-bounds writes to stack-allocated CPB delay arrays and potential stack memory corruption.
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
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify if gst-plugins-bad is installedRun 'gst-inspect-1.0 --version' or check package manager for gst-plugins-bad package (e.g., dpkg -l gst-plugins-bad1.0, rpm -qa gst-plugins-bad, brew list gst-plugins-bad)Affected if gst-plugins-bad package is present on the system
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Determine gst-plugins-bad versionRun 'gst-inspect-1.0 | grep -i version' or use package manager to query version (e.g., dpkg -s gst-plugins-bad1.0 | grep Version)Affected if Version is within the affected range (any unpatched version containing the H.265 parser with buffering period SEI handling)
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Check if h265parse element is availableRun 'gst-inspect-1.0 h265parse' to verify the H.265 parser element from gst-plugins-bad is present and loadableAffected if The h265parse element from gst-plugins-bad is available (vulnerable code path exists)
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Verify H.265/HEVC processing capability is in useReview application logs or configuration for pipelines using H.265 decoding/encodebin typefind (look for caps with 'video/x-h265' or 'video/hevc')Affected if The system processes H.265 video files or streams using GStreamer pipelines
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Confirm vulnerable code path exists in binaryIf available, inspect the binary or check GStreamer debug logs for SEI message type 0 (buffering period) parsing; verify the gst-plugins-bad library was built with the vulnerable H.265 parser codeAffected if Buffering period SEI message parsing is enabled and the library contains the flawed loop bound logic
A user is affected if gst-plugins-bad with the vulnerable H.265 parser is installed and their system processes H.265 video content using GStreamer pipelines.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataApply vendor patches to gst-plugins-bad that correct the loop bound to use cpb_cnt_minus1[0] from the SPS rather than the loop index; avoid processing untrusted H.265 video files or streams until patched.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-53702 — 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 sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-53702 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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