Gstreamer
CVE-2023-37329
HIGH
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A06:2021 - Vulnerable and Outdated Components
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Heap buffer bounds checking
MITRE ATT&CK
1 technique across 1 tactic: Execution The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Impact | This vulnerability presents a significant real-world risk with a CVSS score of 8.8 (High), characterized by network-based attack vector (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required (PR:N), but requiring user interaction (UI:R). The EPSS score of 4.74% places it in the 89th percentile, indicating a notably higher exploitation probability compared to most CVEs. While not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog, the combination of remote code execution capability, widespread use of GStreamer in media applications, and the common user behavior of loading external subtitle files creates a compelling attack surface. The requirement for user interaction slightly mitigates the risk compared to fully automated attacks, but social engineering tactics could easily overcome this barrier. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker could craft a malicious SRT subtitle file and distribute it alongside popular video content on file-sharing platforms or streaming sites. When a victim downloads and plays the video with the malicious subtitle file in a GStreamer-based media player, the buffer overflow is triggered during subtitle parsing, allowing the attacker to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the media player process. Given the low attack complexity and the common practice of downloading subtitle files from untrusted sources, this represents a practical and likely attack vector. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Mar 17, 2026
A heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in GStreamer's SRT subtitle file parsing functionality allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code when processing maliciously crafted SRT files. The vulnerability affects all versions of GStreamer and requires user interaction (such as opening a malicious subtitle file), making it particularly dangerous for media players and applications that use GStreamer for subtitle processing. With an EPSS score of 4.74% (89th percentile), this vulnerability has a higher-than-average likelihood of exploitation in the wild.
RemediationAI
Users should immediately update to a patched version of GStreamer as specified in the official security advisory at https://gstreamer.freedesktop.org/security/sa-2023-0002.html. Fedora Linux users should apply the updates announced at https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/IGQEFZ6ZB3C2XU4JQD3IAFMQIN456W2D/. As a temporary mitigation until patching is complete, organizations should disable automatic loading of external subtitle files in applications using GStreamer, implement strict input validation for any user-provided media files, and consider running media applications in sandboxed environments with limited system privileges.
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Technical ContextAI · show details
GStreamer is a widely-used open-source multimedia framework that handles audio and video processing across multiple platforms. Based on the CPE data (cpe:2.3:a:gstreamer:gstreamer:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*), all versions of GStreamer are affected by this vulnerability. The root cause is a classic heap buffer overflow (CWE-122) that occurs during the parsing of SRT (SubRip Text) subtitle files, where the parser fails to properly validate the length of user-supplied data before copying it to a heap-allocated buffer, potentially allowing an attacker to overwrite adjacent memory regions and hijack program execution flow.
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Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.
CVSS VectorNVD
DescriptionCVE.org
GStreamer SRT File Parsing Heap-based Buffer Overflow Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of GStreamer. Interaction with this library is required to exploit this vulnerability but attack vectors may vary depending on the implementation.
The specific flaw exists within the parsing of SRT subtitle files. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of the length of user-supplied data prior to copying it to a heap-based buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-20968.
Executive ViewAI
CVE-2023-37329 presents significant security risk, a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability rated CVSS 8.8. Exploitation could allow attackers to corrupt memory, crash the application, or potentially execute arbitrary code. Organizations should apply vendor updates when available and consider compensating controls in the interim.
Apply vendor patch. If immediate patching is not feasible: (1) Enable ASLR and DEP where available; (2) Implement network segmentation; (3) Monitor for exploitation indicators.
Threat Intelligence Overview
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
VulDB
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
A buffer overflow occurs when a program writes more data to a memory buffer than it was allocated to hold, causing the excess data to spill into adjacent memory regions.
Remote Code Execution represents the critical moment when an attacker successfully runs arbitrary code on a target system without physical access.
Affected Products (CPE)CVE.org
Heap-based buffer overflow in the flx_decode_delta_fli function in gst/flx/gstflxdec.c in the FLIC decoder in GStreamer
Heap-based buffer overflow in the flx_decode_delta_fli function in gst/flx/gstflxdec.c in the FLIC decoder in GStreamer
Heap-based buffer overflow in the flx_decode_delta_fli function in gst/flx/gstflxdec.c in the FLIC decoder in GStreamer
The FLIC decoder in GStreamer before 1.10.2 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (out-of-bounds write an
A heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in GStreamer's RTSP connection parser that allows remote attackers to
A heap buffer over-read vulnerability exists in GStreamer's isomp4 plugin that allows reading past allocated memory boun
An integer overflow vulnerability in the GStreamer multimedia framework's matroska demuxer allows heap memory corruption
A critical integer overflow vulnerability in GStreamer's qtdemux element allows attackers to trigger denial of service o
A critical integer overflow vulnerability in the GStreamer multimedia framework's Matroska (MKV) demuxer can cause denia
An integer overflow vulnerability in GStreamer's Matroska demuxer can cause denial of service or potentially heap memory
An integer overflow vulnerability in GStreamer's AVI demux element allows attackers to trigger a heap overwrite when par
A heap overflow vulnerability exists in GStreamer's matroskaparse element due to an integer overflow in the gst_matroska
GitHub PoC
Exploit-DB