CVE-2012-2783 in FFmpeg
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in libavcodec/vp56.c in FFmpeg before 0.11, and Libav 0.7.x before 0.7.7 and 0.8.x before 0.8.5, has unknown impact and attack vectors, related to "freeing the returned frame."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/17/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2012-2783 represents a critical memory safety issue within the FFmpeg multimedia framework's video decoding components, specifically affecting the vp56.c module responsible for handling VP5 and VP6 video codecs. This flaw exists in multiple versions of both FFmpeg and its fork Libav, creating a widespread security concern across various media processing applications that rely on these libraries for video handling capabilities. The vulnerability stems from improper memory management during the frame freeing process, where the system fails to correctly handle memory allocation and deallocation sequences when processing decoded video frames.
The technical nature of this vulnerability falls under the category of memory corruption issues, which can manifest as heap-based buffer overflows or use-after-free conditions when the decoder attempts to release memory associated with video frames that have already been processed or are in an inconsistent state. The unspecified impact and attack vectors indicate that this flaw could potentially enable remote code execution or denial of service conditions depending on how the affected libraries are utilized within target applications. According to CWE classification, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-415: Double Free and CWE-416: Use After Free, as the improper handling of memory resources during frame processing creates opportunities for malicious actors to exploit these conditions.
The operational impact of CVE-2012-2783 extends beyond simple functionality degradation to potentially enable serious security compromises in systems processing multimedia content. Applications that utilize FFmpeg or Libav for video decoding, including web browsers, media players, content management systems, and server-side video processing tools, could be vulnerable to exploitation. The attack surface is particularly broad given that these libraries are widely integrated into numerous software products and operating systems, making the potential for exploitation significant. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability through maliciously crafted video files that, when processed by vulnerable applications, trigger the memory corruption conditions leading to arbitrary code execution or system instability.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate patching of affected software versions to ensure proper memory management in the video decoding pipeline. System administrators should prioritize updating FFmpeg to version 0.11 or later, and Libav to versions 0.7.7 or 0.8.5 respectively, to address the memory handling issues in the vp56.c module. Additionally, implementing proper input validation and sanitization for video content can help reduce exploitation risk, though this does not fully address the underlying memory corruption issue. Organizations should also consider deploying network segmentation and application whitelisting policies to limit exposure, while monitoring for suspicious network traffic patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date multimedia libraries and the potential consequences of memory safety issues in widely-used open source components, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1059.007: Command and Scripting Interpreter: PowerShell for defensive measures that include automated patch management and security monitoring.