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GStreamer EUVDEUVD-2026-63446

| CVE-2026-18297 HIGH
Stack-based Buffer Overflow (CWE-121)
2026-08-20 zdi GHSA-gqxr-5q6c-5cqh
7.8
CVSS 3.0 · Vendor: zdi
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Deliver crafted OGG file via web/email
  2. Delivery
    User opens file or triggers media preview
  3. Exploit
    GStreamer OGG parser invoked
  4. Execution
    Oversized field copied to stack buffer
  5. Persist
    Stack return address overwritten
  6. Impact
    Arbitrary code executed as current user

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
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.

Exploitation Conditions

Exploitation requires the target user to actively open a malicious OGG file or visit a web page or application that invokes GStreamer's OGG parsing on attacker-controlled content (UI:R per CVSS). No authentication or elevated privileges are required by the attacker - PR:N indicates the exploit path is accessible without credentials. The vulnerability is constrained to the local process context (S:U, AV:L): the overflow occurs during file parsing on the victim's machine, not over a raw network socket. Exploitation is further limited to environments where GStreamer is installed and the OGG demuxer plugin is active, and to the specific commit state identified by EUVD. Systems that do not process OGG media (e.g., server workloads with no media pipeline) are not in the attack path.

Impact

The provided CVSS 7.8 vector (AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) reflects a local attack surface requiring user interaction, which aligns with the described exploitation scenario of opening a malicious OGG file or visiting a web page that triggers GStreamer parsing. While AV:L may seem to reduce urgency, in practice media files are routinely opened from untrusted sources, and browsers and desktop file managers commonly invoke GStreamer automatically - making the effective attack surface broader than a purely local classification suggests. No EPSS score was provided; without it, quantitative exploitation probability cannot be assessed. The vulnerability is not in CISA KEV and no POC is publicly confirmed, which reduces immediate urgency. However, ZDI disclosure with a named advisory (ZDI-26-465) and a corresponding vendor security advisory (sa-2026-0053) indicates the issue is reliably reproducible. The full C:H/I:H/A:H impact combined with AC:L and PR:N (once the file is opened) makes this a meaningful risk in desktop and media-processing environments. The affected version is pinned to a specific commit rather than a version range, so broader applicability across release lines is not independently confirmed from the input data.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker crafts a malicious OGG file with an oversized field that exceeds the target stack buffer in GStreamer's parser. The attacker delivers this file via email attachment, a malicious website embedding media, or a file-sharing platform. When the target user opens the file - or when a browser or file manager silently invokes GStreamer for preview - the malformed length triggers the stack overflow, overwriting control data and redirecting execution to attacker-controlled code running as the current user.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
Patch available 0.3% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Aug 20, 2026

Stack-based buffer overflow in GStreamer's OGG file parsing component allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current process. Affected installations of GStreamer fail to validate the length of user-supplied data before copying it to a stack-based buffer during OGG container parsing, enabling full code execution (C:H/I:H/A:H). No public exploit identified at time of analysis and the vulnerability is not listed in CISA KEV, though it was discovered and disclosed by the Zero Day Initiative (ZDI-CAN-29584), which typically indicates a reliable, well-researched finding.

RemediationAI

Apply the fix referenced in the GStreamer security advisory sa-2026-0053 at https://gstreamer.freedesktop.org/security/sa-2026-0053.html. The upstream fix is tied to commit e3d33ecb5765f11c85b5ba739a0f1cf2bea81abe per EUVD; a released patched version tag is not independently confirmed from the available input data - consult the vendor advisory directly to identify the correct upgrade target. As a compensating control where patching is not immediately possible, restrict or disable GStreamer's OGG/Ogg Vorbis/Ogg Theora plugin (e.g., remove or block gst-plugins-base ogg elements) to prevent the vulnerable parsing path from being invoked; note this will break playback of OGG/Theora/Vorbis media. In web-based or server-side media processing pipelines, block ingestion of OGG-format files at the application boundary as a short-term workaround. Users on desktop systems should avoid opening OGG files from untrusted sources until the patch is applied.

Affected VersionsENISA

GStreamer e3d33ecb5765f11c85b5ba739a0f1cf2bea81abe

Affects your stack

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Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

GStreamer is a widely deployed open-source multimedia pipeline framework used across Linux desktop environments (notably GNOME), embedded systems, and browser media stacks. The vulnerability resides in its OGG demuxer/parser component. OGG is a container format commonly used for Ogg Vorbis audio and Ogg Theora video. The root cause is CWE-121 (Stack-based Buffer Overflow): the parser copies attacker-controlled data into a fixed-size stack buffer without first verifying the input length, allowing the return address or adjacent stack data to be overwritten. The CPE cpe:2.3:a:gstreamer:gstreamer:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* covers all platform variants of the GStreamer library, and the EUVD identifies the specific vulnerable state as commit e3d33ecb5765f11c85b5ba739a0f1cf2bea81abe.

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Severity by source

Vendor (zdi) PRIMARY 7.8 HIGH
AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
vuln.today AI 7.8 HIGH

Local attack vector because exploitation occurs during file parsing on victim's machine; no privileges required and user must open the malicious file.

3.1 AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
4.0 AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
SUSE 8.8 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Red Hat 7.8 HIGH

Primary rating from Vendor (zdi).

CVSS VectorVendor: zdi

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

DescriptionCVE.org

GStreamer OGG File Parsing Stack-based Buffer Overflow Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of GStreamer. User interaction is required to exploit this vulnerability in that the target must visit a malicious page or open a malicious file.

The specific flaw exists within the parsing of OGG files. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of the length of user-supplied data prior to copying it to a stack-based buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-29584.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

GStreamer, a multimedia framework used across media players, streaming platforms, and automated content processing, contains a critical remote code execution vulnerability in OGG file handling (CVE-2026-18297, CVSS 7.8). Remote attackers can trigger arbitrary code execution by providing specially crafted OGG media files to any GStreamer-based application. Organizations with GStreamer deployments processing external or user-supplied media face immediate risk of system compromise and data breach; immediate inventory and protective measures are critical.

Business Impact: High
Compensating Controls

No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis. Interim mitigations include: disabling OGG media format support where operationally viable; implementing strict file format validation and size limits to reject malformed OGG containers; running all GStreamer processes in restricted sandboxes with least-privilege isolation; network segmentation to isolate media processing systems from production infrastructure and sensitive data; restricting OGG media sources to pre-validated trusted suppliers; establishing continuous monitoring of vendor and ZDI security channels for patch notifications; preparing change management procedures for rapid patch deployment upon release.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.3%
Top 77% exploitable
Prevalence
High
core multimedia framework across Linux/GNOME desktops and embedded platforms
Data Quality
7 sources
Confidence: High
EUVD NVD CVE.org EPSS Vulnrichment Vendor 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.

SignalValue
Severity HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.3%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision
Scheduled
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Small
Automatable
No
Human Impact
High
Technical Impact
Total

Priority Score

39
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +39
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

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.

A stack-based buffer overflow occurs when a program writes more data to a buffer located on the stack than it was allocated to hold.

Remote Code Execution represents the critical moment when an attacker successfully runs arbitrary code on a target system without physical access.

CVE-2016-9636 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Jan 27

Heap-based buffer overflow in the flx_decode_delta_fli function in gst/flx/gstflxdec.c in the FLIC decoder in GStreamer

CVE-2016-9635 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Jan 27

Heap-based buffer overflow in the flx_decode_delta_fli function in gst/flx/gstflxdec.c in the FLIC decoder in GStreamer

CVE-2016-9634 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Jan 27

Heap-based buffer overflow in the flx_decode_delta_fli function in gst/flx/gstflxdec.c in the FLIC decoder in GStreamer

CVE-2016-9808 HIGH POC
7.5 Jan 13

The FLIC decoder in GStreamer before 1.10.2 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (out-of-bounds write an

CVE-2019-9928 HIGH
8.8 Apr 24

A heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in GStreamer's RTSP connection parser that allows remote attackers to

CVE-2025-47219 HIGH POC
8.1 Aug 07

A heap buffer over-read vulnerability exists in GStreamer's isomp4 plugin that allows reading past allocated memory boun

CVE-2022-1920 HIGH POC
7.8 Jul 19

An integer overflow vulnerability in the GStreamer multimedia framework's matroska demuxer allows heap memory corruption

CVE-2022-2122 HIGH POC
7.8 Jul 19

A critical integer overflow vulnerability in GStreamer's qtdemux element allows attackers to trigger denial of service o

CVE-2022-1924 HIGH POC
7.8 Jul 19

A critical integer overflow vulnerability in the GStreamer multimedia framework's Matroska (MKV) demuxer can cause denia

CVE-2022-1922 HIGH POC
7.8 Jul 19

An integer overflow vulnerability in GStreamer's Matroska demuxer can cause denial of service or potentially heap memory

CVE-2022-1921 HIGH POC
7.8 Jul 19

An integer overflow vulnerability in GStreamer's AVI demux element allows attackers to trigger a heap overwrite when par

CVE-2022-1925 HIGH POC
7.8 Jul 19

A heap overflow vulnerability exists in GStreamer's matroskaparse element due to an integer overflow in the gst_matroska

Vendor StatusVendor

SUSE

Severity: Important
Product Status
SUSE Liberty Linux 10 Fixed
SUSE Liberty Linux 8 Fixed
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.3 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.4 Affected

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