CVE-2016-10190 in FFmpeg
Summary
by MITRE
Heap-based buffer overflow in libavformat/http.c in FFmpeg before 2.8.10, 3.0.x before 3.0.5, 3.1.x before 3.1.6, and 3.2.x before 3.2.2 allows remote web servers to execute arbitrary code via a negative chunk size in an HTTP response.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/12/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-10190 represents a critical heap-based buffer overflow in the FFmpeg multimedia framework's HTTP handling component. This flaw exists in the libavformat/http.c file and affects multiple versions of FFmpeg including 2.8.10 and earlier, 3.0.5 and earlier, 3.1.6 and earlier, and 3.2.2 and earlier releases. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation when processing HTTP chunked transfer encoding responses from remote web servers. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious HTTP responses containing negative chunk sizes, which causes the application to allocate insufficient memory buffers and subsequently write beyond allocated memory boundaries.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs during the parsing of HTTP chunked transfer encoding where FFmpeg expects chunk sizes to be positive integers representing the length of data chunks in the HTTP response body. When a remote server sends a negative chunk size value, the parsing logic fails to properly validate this input before using it to determine buffer allocation sizes. This leads to heap memory corruption as the application attempts to allocate memory based on negative values or performs memory writes beyond the intended buffer boundaries. The heap corruption can result in arbitrary code execution when the corrupted memory is subsequently accessed or when the application's memory management structures become compromised. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-121 Heap-based Buffer Overflow, which specifically addresses buffer overflows occurring in heap memory allocations.
The operational impact of CVE-2016-10190 is severe and far-reaching across numerous applications that rely on FFmpeg for multimedia processing. Any application or service that processes HTTP-based media streams, including web browsers, media servers, content delivery networks, and multimedia applications, becomes vulnerable to remote code execution attacks. The attack vector requires only that a victim accesses a malicious HTTP resource through an application using the vulnerable FFmpeg version, making it particularly dangerous for web-based applications and services. The vulnerability can be exploited by remote attackers without requiring any user interaction beyond accessing the malicious content, making it a significant threat in environments where users might encounter untrusted media content. This aligns with ATT&CK technique T1203, which covers exploitation of remote services through HTTP-based attacks.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability involve immediate patching of all affected FFmpeg versions to their respective secure releases including 2.8.10, 3.0.5, 3.1.6, and 3.2.2. Organizations should also implement network-level protections such as HTTP filtering and content validation to prevent malicious HTTP responses from reaching vulnerable applications. Additionally, application developers should consider implementing input validation layers and memory safety checks when integrating FFmpeg libraries into their systems. Regular security updates and vulnerability assessments should be conducted to identify and remediate similar issues in multimedia processing components. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper input validation in network protocol implementations and highlights the need for robust memory management practices in multimedia frameworks that handle untrusted network data.