CVE-2012-0904 in VLC Media Player
Summary
by MITRE
VLC media player 1.1.11 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via a long string in an amr file.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/04/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2012-0904 affects VLC media player version 1.1.11 and represents a denial of service flaw that can be exploited through crafted media files. This vulnerability specifically targets the application's handling of amr (Adaptive Multi-Rate) audio files, which are commonly used in mobile communications and voice messaging applications. The flaw manifests when the media player encounters an excessively long string within the amr file structure, causing the application to crash and become unavailable to users. This type of vulnerability falls under the category of input validation issues that can lead to application instability and service disruption.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient bounds checking within VLC's amr file parser. When processing amr format files, the player's internal code fails to properly validate the length of string parameters contained within the file headers or metadata sections. This lack of input sanitization creates an opportunity for attackers to craft malicious amr files containing oversized string values that exceed the expected buffer sizes. The vulnerability is classified as a buffer over-read condition according to CWE-129, where the application attempts to read data beyond the allocated memory boundaries. The flaw is particularly concerning because it operates at the parsing layer of the media processing pipeline, making it accessible through normal media playback operations without requiring special privileges or complex exploitation techniques.
The operational impact of CVE-2012-0904 extends beyond simple application crashes to potentially disrupt media playback services and create availability issues for users. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability by distributing malicious amr files through various channels including email attachments, peer-to-peer networks, or compromised websites. When victims attempt to play these files using VLC player, the application crashes and terminates unexpectedly, forcing users to restart the media player and potentially lose unsaved playback state. This vulnerability is particularly relevant in enterprise environments where VLC is commonly used for multimedia content delivery and where the disruption of media services can impact productivity and user experience. The flaw also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004, which describes denial of service attacks targeting application availability through exploitation of software vulnerabilities.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability primarily involve immediate software updates and patches provided by the VLC development team. Users should upgrade to VLC versions that have addressed this specific parsing issue and implemented proper bounds checking for string parameters within amr files. System administrators should also consider implementing file type validation and content scanning mechanisms to prevent the execution of potentially malicious media files. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input validation and buffer management in multimedia processing applications, as outlined in CWE-125, which addresses out-of-bounds read conditions. Organizations should also establish regular patch management procedures to ensure timely deployment of security fixes for widely used media applications, particularly those handling untrusted input from external sources.