CVE-2023-29573 in Bento4
Summary
by MITRE • 04/13/2023
Bento4 v1.6.0-639 was discovered to contain an out-of-memory bug in the mp4info component.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/11/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-29573 affects Bento4 version 1.6.0-639 and specifically targets the mp4info component within this multimedia processing library. This issue represents a critical memory management flaw that can lead to system instability and potential denial of service conditions. The mp4info tool is commonly used for analyzing and extracting metadata from mp4 media files, making it a frequently utilized utility in digital media processing workflows across various platforms and applications.
The technical flaw manifests as an out-of-memory condition that occurs when the mp4info component processes specially crafted or malformed mp4 files. This vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and memory allocation handling within the parsing routines of the media file parser. The flaw allows an attacker to craft malicious mp4 files that, when processed by the vulnerable mp4info tool, trigger excessive memory consumption patterns that can exhaust available system resources. This type of vulnerability falls under CWE-400, which categorizes unchecked resource allocation issues, and represents a classic example of memory exhaustion attacks that can be exploited to cause system instability.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service scenarios, as it can potentially be leveraged to disrupt critical media processing pipelines and automated workflows. Organizations that rely on Bento4 for media file analysis, transcoding, or digital asset management may experience service interruptions when processing untrusted mp4 content. The vulnerability is particularly concerning in environments where automated processing systems continuously analyze media files, as it could enable attackers to systematically disrupt operations through resource exhaustion attacks. This aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004, which covers network denial of service attacks through resource exhaustion.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2023-29573 should prioritize immediate patching of the Bento4 library to version 1.6.0-640 or later, which contains the necessary memory management fixes. System administrators should implement input validation measures that filter or sanitize mp4 files before processing them through the mp4info component. Additionally, deploying resource limits and monitoring mechanisms can help detect and prevent exploitation attempts by limiting memory consumption during file processing operations. Organizations should also consider implementing sandboxing techniques for media file analysis to isolate potential memory exhaustion attacks from critical system resources. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of robust input validation in multimedia processing libraries and highlights the need for continuous security assessment of media handling components in software development environments.