# CVE-2017-5838: Memory corruption in n/a

> Remote attackers can cause a denial of service via out-of-bounds heap read in GStreamer's datetime parsing function.

- **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:** 9 Feb 2017
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2017-5838, DSA-3822-1, GHSA-3j54-g484-c9vm, MGASA-2017-0300, SUSE-SU-2017:0966-1, SUSE-SU-2017:0967-1, UBUNTU-CVE-2017-5838, USN-6291-1

## What is CVE-2017-5838?

CVE-2017-5838 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Gstreamer Gstreamer, published on 9 Feb 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The gst_date_time_new_from_iso8601_string function in gst/gstdatetime.c in GStreamer before 1.10.3 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (out-of-bounds heap read) via a malformed datetime string.

Weakness: CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-5838?

It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `gstreamer` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP1 | All versions | 1.2.4-2.3.3 |
| `gstreamer` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP2 | All versions | 1.8.3-9.5 |
| `gstreamer` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP1 | All versions | 1.2.4-2.3.3 |
| `gstreamer` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2 | All versions | 1.8.3-9.5 |
| `gstreamer` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for Raspberry Pi 12 SP2 | All versions | 1.8.3-9.5 |
| `gstreamer` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP1 | All versions | 1.2.4-2.3.3 |
| `gstreamer` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP2 | All versions | 1.8.3-9.5 |
| `gstreamer` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12 SP1 | All versions | 1.2.4-2.3.3 |
| `gstreamer` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12 SP2 | All versions | 1.8.3-9.5 |

Products: Gstreamer Gstreamer.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-5838?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2017-5838 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-5838 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Gstreamer Gstreamer

- [CVE-2026-3083](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-3083/): GStreamer rtpqdm2depay Out-Of-Bounds Write Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2026-3085](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-3085/): GStreamer rtpqdm2depay Heap-based Buffer Overflow Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2023-37328](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-37328/): GStreamer PGS File Parsing Heap-based Buffer Overflow Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2023-37329](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-37329/): GStreamer SRT File Parsing Heap-based Buffer Overflow Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2023-38103](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-38103/): GStreamer RealMedia File Parsing Integer Overflow Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (high 8.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-5838 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-5838 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Gstreamer Gstreamer, published on 9 Feb 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-2017-5838 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Gstreamer Gstreamer. 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-2017-5838/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-5838/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-5838
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-5838
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-5838

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-5838/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.