# CVE-2018-12459: Denial of service in n/a

> Attackers can cause a denial of service in FFmpeg by providing a crafted AVI file that triggers an assertion violation during MPEG4 conversion.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 15 Jun 2018
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** CLEANSTART-2024-IG86990, DEBIAN-CVE-2018-12459, GHSA-68hp-93h9-78mg

## What is CVE-2018-12459?

CVE-2018-12459 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Ffmpeg Ffmpeg, published on 15 Jun 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

An inconsistent bits-per-sample value in the ff_mpeg4_decode_picture_header function in libavcodec/mpeg4videodec.c in FFmpeg 4.0 may trigger an assertion violation while converting a crafted AVI file to MPEG4, leading to a denial of service.

Weakness: CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-12459?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Ffmpeg Ffmpeg.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-12459?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2018-12459 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-12459 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Ffmpeg Ffmpeg

- [CVE-2013-0864](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-0864/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2013-0872](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-0872/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2013-0873](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-0873/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2013-4265](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-4265/): Null dereference in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2011-3937](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-3937/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-12459 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-12459 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Ffmpeg Ffmpeg, published on 15 Jun 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-12459 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Ffmpeg Ffmpeg. 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-2018-12459/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-12459/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-12459
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-12459
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-12459

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-12459/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.