Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2019-9718

In FFmpeg 3.2 and 4.1, a denial of service in the subtitle decoder allows attackers to hog the CPU via a crafted video file in Matroska format, because ff_htmlmarkup_to_ass in libavcodec/htmlsubtitles.c has a complex format argument to sscanf.

Security Impact Summary

This vulnerability carries a MEDIUM severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 6.5, indicating it can be exploited remotely over the network with relatively low complexity though user interaction is required and does not require pre-existing privileges . The vulnerability impacts and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 3 products from ffmpeg, from debian, from canonical organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

First disclosed in 2019, this vulnerability was reported during a period defined by widespread IoT adoption challenges, mobile security concerns, and the emergence of advanced persistent threat (APT) techniques. Contemporary mitigation strategies focused on secure development practices and third-party component vetting.

Published

2019-03-12T09:29:00.530

Last Modified

2024-11-21T04:52:10.140

Status

Modified

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.1: 6.5 (MEDIUM)

CVSSv2 Vector

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P

Access Vector: NETWORK
Access Complexity: MEDIUM
Authentication: NONE
Confidentiality Impact: NONE
Integrity Impact: NONE
Availability Impact: PARTIAL

Exploitability Score

8.6

Impact Score

2.9

Weaknesses

Type: Primary
CWE-125

Affected Vendors & Products

Type	Vendor	Product	Version/Range	Vulnerable?
Application	ffmpeg	ffmpeg	3.2	Yes
Application	ffmpeg	ffmpeg	4.1	Yes
Operating System	debian	debian_linux	9.0	Yes
Operating System	canonical	ubuntu_linux	18.04	Yes
Operating System	canonical	ubuntu_linux	18.10	Yes
Operating System	canonical	ubuntu_linux	19.04	Yes

References

http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/107382 Broken Link ([email protected])
https://git.ffmpeg.org/gitweb/ffmpeg.git/commit/1f00c97bc3475c477f3c468cf2d924d5761d0982 Patch, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://github.com/FFmpeg/FFmpeg/commit/23ccf3cabb4baf6e8af4b1af3fcc59c904736f21 Patch, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2019/May/60 Mailing List, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://usn.ubuntu.com/3967-1/ Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://www.debian.org/security/2019/dsa-4449 Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/107382 Broken Link (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://git.ffmpeg.org/gitweb/ffmpeg.git/commit/1f00c97bc3475c477f3c468cf2d924d5761d0982 Patch, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://github.com/FFmpeg/FFmpeg/commit/23ccf3cabb4baf6e8af4b1af3fcc59c904736f21 Patch, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2019/May/60 Mailing List, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://usn.ubuntu.com/3967-1/ Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://www.debian.org/security/2019/dsa-4449 Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)

How SecUtils Interprets This CVE

SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For ffmpeg's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.