CVE-2026-90573 in GPAC
Summary
by MITRE • 09/13/2026
A vulnerability was identified in GPAC up to f1219cde. The impacted element is the function gf_sg_mfurl_del of the file scenegraph/vrml_tools.c of the component MP4Box. The manipulation leads to null pointer dereference. Local access is required to approach this attack. The exploit is publicly available and might be used. This product adopts a rolling release strategy to maintain continuous delivery. Therefore, version details for affected or updated releases cannot be specified. Upgrading to version abi-16.23 is sufficient to resolve this issue. The identifier of the patch is 49dee5cad329cfed310c1682703df7daa47df31a. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/19/2026
The vulnerability identified in GPAC, specifically within version f1219cde and earlier releases prior to abi-16.23, centers on a critical memory management flaw located in the gf_sg_mfurl_del function of the scenegraph/vrml_tools.c file associated with the MP4Box component. This software is widely used for multimedia processing and container manipulation, making its stability crucial for applications handling complex media files. The core technical issue stems from improper validation or cleanup procedures when deleting Multi-Value URL fields within the VRML scene graph structure. When specific malformed or edge-case inputs are processed by this function, it fails to properly check pointer validity before attempting to dereference them during deallocation or traversal operations. This logical error results in a null pointer dereference, which is a classic memory safety violation where the program attempts to access memory at address zero rather than a valid heap or stack location.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability allows for local exploitation by an attacker who has sufficient privileges to trigger the affected code path within MP4Box. Since GPAC employs a rolling release strategy designed for continuous delivery of features and fixes, pinpointing exact version numbers is challenging as updates are frequent and incremental. However, the impact remains consistent across vulnerable iterations: if triggered successfully, the null pointer dereference will cause an immediate application crash or segmentation fault in most standard execution environments. While this primarily manifests as a Denial of Service condition due to process termination, such crashes can potentially be leveraged in more complex attack scenarios depending on the surrounding memory layout and operating system protections, although no remote code execution is explicitly indicated by the current data. The availability of public exploits significantly elevates the risk profile, allowing threat actors with local access to reliably reproduce this instability without needing sophisticated custom tooling.
The security implications align closely with CWE-476, which defines a NULL Pointer Dereference vulnerability where software performs an operation using a pointer that evaluates to null. This type of flaw is often categorized under ATT&CK technique T1059, specifically Command and Scripting Interpreter subcategories if the crash leads to unexpected behavior in automated pipelines, or more broadly as part of initial exploitation vectors for local privilege escalation attempts via memory corruption techniques like heap spraying, although direct code execution from a simple null dereference is rare without additional context. The presence of publicly available exploits means that defensive measures must be prioritized over detection alone, given the low barrier to entry for attackers familiar with basic reverse engineering or fuzzing tools.
To mitigate this risk, immediate action is required by upgrading GPAC and its MP4Box component to version abi-16.23 or later. This specific release contains patch 49dee5cad329cfed310c1682703df7daa47df31a, which addresses the root cause by implementing proper null checks and safe memory handling routines within the gf_sg_mfurl_del function. Organizations relying on GPAC for media processing workflows should integrate this update into their standard patch management cycles to prevent service disruptions caused by application crashes. Furthermore, since local access is a prerequisite for exploitation, enforcing strict least-privilege principles and monitoring for abnormal process terminations in environments where MP4Box operates can provide an additional layer of defense against potential abuse while the software infrastructure remains updated.