Description
Heap-based buffer overflow in the avcodec_default_get_buffer function (utils.c) in FFmpeg libavcodec 0.4.9-pre1 and earlier, as used in products such as (1) mplayer, (2) xine-lib, (3) Xmovie, and (4) GStreamer, allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via small PNG images with palettes.
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | ffmpeg | 0.cvs20050918-5.1 | — |
| Debian 14 | vlc | 0.8.4.debian-2 | — |
| Debian 13 | ffmpeg | 0.cvs20050918-5.1 | — |
| Debian 13 | vlc | 0.8.4.debian-2 | — |
| Debian 12 | ffmpeg | 0.cvs20050918-5.1 | — |
| Debian 12 | vlc | 0.8.4.debian-2 | — |
| Debian 3.1 | ffmpeg | 0.cvs20050313-2sarge1 | DSA-992-1 |
| Debian 3.1 | vlc | 0.8.1.svn20050314-1sarge1 | DSA-1004-1 |
| Debian 3.1 | xine-lib | 1.0.1-1sarge2 | DSA-1005-1 |
Advisories 3
- DSA-992-1 ffmpeg - buffer overflow Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- DSA-1004-1 vlc - buffer overflow Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- DSA-1005-1 xine-lib - buffer overflow Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
References
- DSA-992 vendor-advisory
- GLSA-200602-01 vendor-advisory
- MDKSA-2005:229 vendor-advisory
- MDKSA-2005:232 vendor-advisory
- 19272 third-party-advisory
- USN-230-1 vendor-advisory
- DSA-1005 vendor-advisory
- 19114 third-party-advisory
- GLSA-200601-06 vendor-advisory
- 18087 third-party-advisory
- http://www1.mplayerhq.hu/cgi-bin/cvsweb.cgi/ffmpeg/libavcodec/utils.c?rev=1.162&content-type=text/x-cvsweb-markup&cvsroot=FFMpeg
- http://cvs.freedesktop.org/gstreamer/gst-ffmpeg/ChangeLog?rev=1.239&view=markup
- 18400 third-party-advisory
- MDKSA-2005:230 vendor-advisory
- GLSA-200603-03 vendor-advisory
- 17892 third-party-advisory
- 18746 third-party-advisory
- MDKSA-2005:228 vendor-advisory
- 19192 third-party-advisory
- http://article.gmane.org/gmane.comp.video.ffmpeg.devel/26558
- USN-230-2 vendor-advisory
- MDKSA-2005:231 vendor-advisory
- ADV-2005-2770 vdb-entry
- DSA-1004 vendor-advisory
- 18739 third-party-advisory
- 18107 third-party-advisory
- 19279 third-party-advisory
- 15743 vdb-entry
- 18066 third-party-advisory
- http://www1.mplayerhq.hu/cgi-bin/cvsweb.cgi/ffmpeg/libavcodec/utils.c.diff?r1=1.161&r2=1.162&cvsroot=FFMpeg