Gstreamer
CVE-2023-50186
HIGH
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A06:2021 - Vulnerable and Outdated Components
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Stack 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 | The CVSS 3.1 score of 8.8 (High) reflects a network-attackable vulnerability (AV:N) with low attack complexity (AC:L) that requires no privileges (PR:N) but does require user interaction (UI:R), potentially resulting in complete compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability (C:H/I:H/A:H). The EPSS score of 9.18% places this vulnerability in the 93rd percentile for exploitation probability, indicating significantly higher risk than average vulnerabilities. While not currently in CISA's KEV catalog suggesting no confirmed in-the-wild exploitation, the combination of remote code execution capability, low attack complexity, and high EPSS score makes this a priority for patching. The requirement for user interaction slightly mitigates the risk but does not eliminate it, especially in automated media processing environments. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker crafts a malicious AV1 video file with specially formatted metadata designed to overflow the stack buffer during parsing, then distributes it via email attachment, web download, or media sharing platform. When a victim opens or processes the video file using a vulnerable GStreamer installation, the overflow allows the attacker to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the media application. Given the low attack complexity and network attack vector, exploitation could be automated once a working proof-of-concept is developed, though no public POC has been reported. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Mar 17, 2026
A stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in GStreamer's AV1 video parsing functionality that allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code when processing specially crafted AV1 video files. The vulnerability affects all versions of GStreamer prior to the patched release and requires user interaction to exploit, though attack vectors may vary depending on implementation. With an EPSS score of 9.18% (93rd percentile), this vulnerability has a higher-than-average likelihood of exploitation in the wild, though it is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog.
RemediationAI
Immediately upgrade GStreamer to the latest patched version as specified in the vendor security advisory at https://gstreamer.freedesktop.org/security/sa-2023-0011.html. Until patching is possible, implement input validation for AV1 video files, restrict processing of untrusted media content, and consider sandboxing media processing applications to limit the impact of potential exploitation. Organizations should prioritize systems that automatically process video content from untrusted sources, as these present the highest risk profile for exploitation.
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Technical ContextAI · show details
GStreamer is a widely-used open-source multimedia framework that provides libraries and tools for constructing graphs of media-handling components, identified by CPE cpe:2.3:a:gstreamer:gstreamer:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*. The vulnerability occurs specifically in the AV1 (AOMedia Video 1) codec parsing implementation when processing metadata within AV1 encoded video files. As classified by CWE-121 (Stack-based Buffer Overflow), the root cause is insufficient validation of user-supplied data length before copying it to a fixed-size buffer allocated on the stack, allowing attackers to overwrite adjacent memory regions and potentially 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 AV1 Video Parsing Stack-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 metadata within AV1 encoded video files. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of the length of user-supplied data prior to copying it to a fixed-length stack-based buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-22300.
Executive ViewAI
CVE-2023-50186 presents significant security risk, a stack-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