CVE-2012-1904 in RealPlayer
Summary
by MITRE
mp4fformat.dll in the QuickTime File Format plugin in RealNetworks RealPlayer 15 and earlier, and RealPlayer SP 1.1.4 Build 12.0.0.756 and earlier, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory corruption and application crash) via a crafted MP4 file.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/27/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2012-1904 resides within the mp4fformat.dll component of RealNetworks RealPlayer software, specifically affecting versions up to and including RealPlayer 15 and RealPlayer SP 1.1.4 Build 12.0.0.756. This flaw manifests in the QuickTime File Format plugin which processes multimedia content, creating a critical security weakness that can be exploited through maliciously crafted MP4 files. The vulnerability represents a classic buffer overflow condition that occurs during the parsing of malformed MP4 media files, where the application fails to properly validate input data before processing it, leading to memory corruption and subsequent application instability.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves improper bounds checking within the MP4 file format parser, which operates under CWE-121 Critical Buffer Overflow conditions. When a maliciously constructed MP4 file is processed by the vulnerable RealPlayer software, the mp4fformat.dll module attempts to read and parse specific metadata fields without adequate validation of buffer sizes or data lengths. This parsing failure results in memory corruption that ultimately causes the application to crash, effectively creating a denial of service condition that prevents legitimate users from accessing multimedia content. The flaw demonstrates characteristics consistent with CWE-787 Out-of-bounds Write patterns where the software writes data beyond the allocated memory boundaries, corrupting adjacent memory regions.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risk to users who may encounter malicious MP4 files through email attachments, web downloads, or peer-to-peer sharing networks. The remote exploitation capability means that attackers can trigger the vulnerability without requiring local system access, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where users may inadvertently open compromised media files. The denial of service impact extends beyond simple application crashes to potentially disrupting media playback services and affecting productivity in environments where RealPlayer is extensively used for multimedia content delivery. This vulnerability also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution, where adversaries leverage application vulnerabilities to execute malicious code or cause service disruption.
The mitigation strategy for CVE-2012-1904 requires immediate patching of affected RealPlayer installations through official updates provided by RealNetworks, as the vulnerability cannot be effectively addressed through configuration changes alone. Organizations should implement network-based controls such as content filtering to prevent the download and execution of potentially malicious MP4 files, particularly in environments where users may access untrusted content sources. Security teams should also consider disabling the QuickTime File Format plugin in RealPlayer when it is not actively required for multimedia playback, reducing the attack surface available to potential exploiters. Additionally, regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar parsing vulnerabilities in other multimedia processing components that may be susceptible to analogous buffer overflow conditions.