CVE-2017-16840

Name: CVE-2017-16840
Creator: NVD / NIST
Published: 2017-11-21T08:29:00.21+00:00
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

CRITICALCVSS 9.8/10EPSS 3.33%

Last modified Jun 17, 2026

CVE-2017-16840 is a critical-severity vulnerability rated 9.8/10 on the CVSS scale. The VC-2 Video Compression encoder in FFmpeg 3.0 and 3.4 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (out-of-bounds read) because of incorrect buffer padding for non-Haar wavelets, related to libavcodec/vc2enc.c and libavcodec/vc2enc_dwt.c.. EPSS estimates a 3.33% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Description

The VC-2 Video Compression encoder in FFmpeg 3.0 and 3.4 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (out-of-bounds read) because of incorrect buffer padding for non-Haar wavelets, related to libavcodec/vc2enc.c and libavcodec/vc2enc_dwt.c.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1

9.8/10

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS Probability

3.33%

87.1th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

CWE-125

Affected Software

Vendor	Product	Versions
Ffmpeg	Ffmpeg	3.0
Ffmpeg	Ffmpeg	3.4
Debian	Debian Linux	9.0

References

http://git.videolan.org/?p=ffmpeg.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=a94cb36ab2ad99d3a1331c9f91831ef593d94f74
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/101924Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
https://github.com/FFmpeg/FFmpeg/commit/94e538aebbc9f9c529e8b1f2eda860cfb8c473b1Patch, Third Party Advisory
https://www.debian.org/security/2017/dsa-4049Vendor Advisory
http://git.videolan.org/?p=ffmpeg.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=a94cb36ab2ad99d3a1331c9f91831ef593d94f74
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/101924Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
https://github.com/FFmpeg/FFmpeg/commit/94e538aebbc9f9c529e8b1f2eda860cfb8c473b1Patch, Third Party Advisory
https://www.debian.org/security/2017/dsa-4049Vendor Advisory

Timeline

Published: Nov 21, 2017
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Modified

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2017-16840?

How severe is CVE-2017-16840?

CVE-2017-16840 has a CVSS score of 9.8/10 (CRITICAL severity). The EPSS model estimates a 3.33% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2017-16840?

Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.

Are you affected by CVE-2017-16840?

Run a free Strix scan to check your systems for this vulnerability.

Scan your code now

Source: NVD / NIST