CVE-2011-0722 in FFmpeg
Summary
by MITRE
FFmpeg before 0.5.4, as used in MPlayer and other products, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (heap memory corruption and application crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via a malformed RealMedia file.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/07/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2011-0722 represents a critical heap memory corruption issue within FFmpeg library versions prior to 0.5.4 that affects numerous multimedia applications including MPlayer and other products relying on FFmpeg for media processing. This vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and memory management within the RealMedia file parser component of FFmpeg, creating a dangerous condition where malformed media files can trigger unpredictable behavior in affected applications. The flaw specifically manifests when processing specially crafted RealMedia containers that contain malformed data structures, leading to improper memory allocation and manipulation that can result in application instability.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the manipulation of RealMedia file headers and data structures that FFmpeg's parser does not properly validate before attempting to process them. When a maliciously crafted RealMedia file is processed, the parser fails to validate array bounds and memory allocation parameters, allowing attackers to overwrite heap memory regions with unexpected data. This memory corruption can occur during the parsing of media metadata, audio/video stream information, or container structure elements that are improperly handled by the vulnerable FFmpeg code. The vulnerability falls under the CWE-121 heap-based buffer overflow category, which is classified as a critical weakness in memory management and input validation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service to potentially enable remote code execution, making it particularly dangerous for applications that process untrusted media content from web sources or user uploads. When exploited, the vulnerability can cause applications to crash abruptly, leading to denial of service conditions that disrupt legitimate user activities, or more severely, allow attackers to inject and execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the affected application. This risk is particularly elevated in server environments where multimedia applications process user-uploaded content or stream media from untrusted sources, as attackers can leverage this vulnerability to compromise entire systems.
Organizations utilizing affected versions of FFmpeg should immediately implement mitigations including updating to FFmpeg version 0.5.4 or later, which contains patches addressing the heap memory corruption issues. Additionally, administrators should implement input validation measures such as file type checking, size limitations, and sandboxing techniques to reduce the attack surface. Network-level protections can include content filtering and media validation before processing, while application-level mitigations should enforce strict input validation and implement proper error handling to prevent exploitation attempts. The vulnerability's classification under ATT&CK technique T1203 (Exploitation for Client Execution) highlights the need for comprehensive security measures that address both the technical flaw and potential attack vectors that could lead to system compromise.