CVE-2026-92881 in vgmstream
Summary
by MITRE • 09/17/2026
A security vulnerability has been detected in vgmstream. The affected element is the function init_vgmstream_awb_memory of the file src/meta/awb.c of the component AWB parser. Such manipulation leads to divide by zero. The attack can be executed remotely. The name of the patch is ae37662ad626254ddd96ad69ac263792d7a92024. A patch should be applied to remediate this issue.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/17/2026
The vulnerability identified in vgmstream, specifically within the AWB parser component located at src/meta/awb.c, represents a critical arithmetic error that can lead to application instability or potential exploitation through divide-by-zero conditions. The function init_vgm_awb_memory is responsible for initializing memory structures required to parse Audio Warehouse Bundle files, which are commonly used in video game audio streams. During the initialization process, if specific malformed input data triggers an invalid calculation involving division by zero, it results in undefined behavior within the application runtime environment. This type of flaw falls under CWE-369, known as Divide By Zero, where a mathematical operation attempts to divide a number by zero without proper exception handling or validation checks prior to execution.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability allows for remote attack vectors because vgmstream is often used in media players and audio processing tools that may process untrusted input files provided by external sources. An attacker could craft a malicious AWB file containing specially constructed headers or metadata fields that cause the divisor variable to evaluate to zero during memory initialization. When such a file is processed, the resulting arithmetic exception can crash the application immediately, leading to a denial of service condition for legitimate users relying on the software for audio playback. In more complex scenarios involving specific compiler optimizations and runtime environments, divide-by-zero errors might be leveraged to trigger further exploitation paths or bypass security controls that rely on predictable program flow, although the primary impact remains stability disruption.
The technical root cause lies in insufficient input validation within the AWB parsing logic before arithmetic operations are performed. The code likely fails to verify that divisor values derived from file headers are non-zero and logically consistent with expected data structures. This lack of defensive programming allows malformed inputs to propagate through the initialization sequence, eventually reaching a point where mathematical constraints are violated. Such flaws are particularly dangerous in parsers because they often run with elevated privileges or handle sensitive media data, making them attractive targets for attackers seeking to disrupt services or potentially achieve code execution if combined with other memory corruption vulnerabilities.
To mitigate this risk, it is imperative that the patch ae37662ad626254ddd96ad69ac263792d7a92024 be applied promptly to update the vgmstream installation environment. This patch introduces necessary checks to validate divisor values before performing division operations, ensuring that any anomalous input results in a safe error return rather than an arithmetic exception. Additionally, developers should implement comprehensive fuzzing tests targeting AWB file structures to identify similar edge cases across other parser functions. Security teams should also monitor for updates from the vgmstream maintainers and ensure that all instances of the software are updated to versions containing this fix. Regular auditing of input validation routines against CWE standards will help prevent recurrence of such arithmetic vulnerabilities in future development cycles, enhancing overall resilience against malformed file attacks as categorized under ATT&CK techniques related to resource exhaustion or application crash exploitation.