# CVE-2017-16803: Denial of service in n/a

> Remote attackers can cause a denial of service via a crafted Smacker stream due to improper tree recursion restrictions in Libav.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 13 Nov 2017
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2017-16803, DSA-4119-1, GHSA-j8rq-pgqm-7hx7, UBUNTU-CVE-2017-16803

## What is CVE-2017-16803?

CVE-2017-16803 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Libav Libav, published on 13 Nov 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In Libav through 11.11 and 12.x through 12.1, the smacker_decode_tree function in libavcodec/smacker.c does not properly restrict tree recursion, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (bitstream.c:build_table() out-of-bounds read and application crash) via a crafted Smacker stream.

Weakness: CWE-119 (Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-16803?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Libav Libav.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-16803?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2017-16803 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-16803 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Libav Libav

- [CVE-2014-3984](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-3984/): Multiple unspecified vulnerabilities in Libav before 0.8.12 allow remote attackers to have unknown impact and vectors. (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2017-9051](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-9051/): Null dereference in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2014-4609](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-4609/): Integer overflow in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2019-9719](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-9719/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2018-5766](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-5766/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 8.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-16803 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-16803 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Libav Libav, published on 13 Nov 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-16803 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Libav Libav. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-16803/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-16803/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-16803
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-16803
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-16803

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-16803/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.