CVE-2013-0868 in FFmpeg
Summary
by MITRE
libavcodec/huffyuvdec.c in FFmpeg before 1.1.2 allows remote attackers to have an unspecified impact via crafted Huffyuv data, related to an out-of-bounds write and (1) unchecked return codes from the init_vlc function and (2) "len==0 cases."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/04/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-0868 represents a critical security flaw within the FFmpeg multimedia framework, specifically affecting the huffyuvdec.c component responsible for decoding Huffyuv video streams. This vulnerability exists in FFmpeg versions prior to 1.1.2 and enables remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause system instability through the careful crafting of malicious Huffyuv data. The flaw manifests as an out-of-bounds write condition that occurs during the video decoding process, potentially allowing attackers to overwrite critical memory regions and compromise system integrity. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it can be exploited remotely, meaning that simply opening or processing a maliciously crafted video file could result in unauthorized code execution on the target system.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability stems from two primary code defects within the Huffyuv decoder implementation. First, the code fails to properly validate return codes from the init_vlc function, which is responsible for initializing variable-length coding tables used in the decompression process. When init_vlc encounters an error condition, it returns an error code that should be checked and handled appropriately, but the absence of this validation allows the decoder to proceed with incomplete or invalid data structures. Second, the implementation does not adequately handle cases where the length parameter equals zero, creating a scenario where the decoder attempts to process invalid data without proper bounds checking. These combined issues create a dangerous condition where malformed input data can cause the decoder to write data beyond the allocated memory boundaries, leading to potential memory corruption and arbitrary code execution.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risk to organizations that process multimedia content from untrusted sources, including media streaming services, content management systems, and any application that utilizes FFmpeg for video decoding. The out-of-bounds write condition can result in various malicious outcomes including denial of service attacks that crash applications, privilege escalation exploits that allow attackers to gain elevated system permissions, or even remote code execution that could enable complete system compromise. The vulnerability's remote exploitability means that attackers can deliver malicious payloads through web browsers, email attachments, or media sharing platforms without requiring user interaction beyond the automatic processing of multimedia content. Security researchers have classified this as a high-severity issue due to its potential for remote code execution and the widespread use of FFmpeg across numerous applications and platforms.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, which describes heap-based buffer overflow conditions, and CWE-125, which covers out-of-bounds read conditions that can lead to memory corruption. Additionally, this flaw can be mapped to ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for remote code execution through multimedia processing, and T1203 for the exploitation of software vulnerabilities in multimedia frameworks. Organizations should prioritize immediate patching of FFmpeg installations to version 1.1.2 or later, as this release includes fixes for the unchecked return codes and proper handling of zero-length cases. Security teams should also implement network monitoring to detect suspicious multimedia file processing activities and consider deploying application whitelisting controls to prevent execution of untrusted multimedia content. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper input validation and error handling in multimedia processing libraries, as these components often serve as attack vectors due to their widespread use and the complex nature of multimedia data formats.