CVE-2016-20099 L-SMASH through 2.14.5 Infinite Loop in VC-1 Importer Probe
Attackers can cause a denial of service by providing crafted zero-byte files to the L-SMASH library, triggering an infinite loop.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- A user has to click or open something
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2016-20099?
CVE-2016-20099 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in l-smash, published on 14 Oct 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Official description
L-SMASH through 2.14.5 contains an infinite loop vulnerability in vc1_importer_probe() in importer/vc1_imp.c that allows attackers to hang applications via crafted input files. Attackers can supply a file consisting only of zero bytes, which lsmash_read_file() probes automatically, causing indefinite CPU consumption and denial of service.
Weakness: CWE-835
Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-20099?
How do I fix CVE-2016-20099?
No fix has been published for CVE-2016-20099 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Upgrade, then put limits on request size, rate and nesting depth so one client cannot exhaust the service. More about Denial of service.
Is CVE-2016-20099 being exploited?
It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2016-20099 exists.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-wq77-gg6m-97hh.