Heap-based buffer overflow in VLC Media Player - CVE-2020-26664
Published: January 8, 2021 / Updated: January 21, 2021
Vulnerability identifier: #VU49913
CSH Severity: High
CVSS v4: 8.4 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N]
CVE-ID: CVE-2020-26664
CWE-ID: CWE-122
Exploitation vector: Remote access
Exploit availability:
No public exploit available
Vulnerability details
The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the target system.
The vulnerability exists due to a boundary error in EbmlTypeDispatcher::send() function in VideoLAN VLC media player. A remote attacker can create a specially crafted .mkv file, truck the victim to open it, trigger a heap-based buffer overflow and execute arbitrary code on the target system.
Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may result in complete compromise of vulnerable system.
Affected software
VLC Media Player
Gentoo Linux
Arch Linux
vlc (Debian package)
vlc (Alpine package)
Gentoo Linux
Arch Linux
vlc (Debian package)
vlc (Alpine package)
How to mitigate CVE-2020-26664
Install update from vendor's website.
VLC Media Player - update to 3.0.12.1
vlc (Debian package) - update to 3.0.12-0+deb10u1
vlc (Alpine package) - update to 3.0.12-r0
vlc (Debian package) - update to 3.0.12-0+deb10u1
vlc (Alpine package) - update to 3.0.12-r0