# CVE-2023-49096: Argument Injection in FFmpeg codec parameters in Jellyfin > Unauthenticated attackers can inject FFmpeg arguments via codec parameters, potentially executing code or modifying files. - **Severity:** High 7.7 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L`) - **Exploited in the wild:** Not known - **Login needed:** Not needed - **Attackable:** Over the internet - **Victim action needed:** Not needed - **Fix available:** No - **Published:** 6 Dec 2023 - **Updated:** 28 May 2025 - **Also known as:** GHSA-866x-wj5j-2vf4 ## What is CVE-2023-49096? CVE-2023-49096 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in jellyfin, published on 6 Dec 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim. ### Official description Jellyfin is a Free Software Media System for managing and streaming media. In affected versions there is an argument injection in the VideosController, specifically the `/Videos//stream` and `/Videos//stream.` endpoints which are present in the current Jellyfin version. Additional endpoints in the AudioController might also be vulnerable, as they differ only slightly in execution. Those endpoints are reachable by an unauthenticated user. In order to exploit this vulnerability an unauthenticated attacker has to guess an itemId, which is a completely random GUID. It’s a very unlikely case even for a large media database with lots of items. Without an additional information leak, this vulnerability shouldn’t be directly exploitable, even if the instance is reachable from the Internet. There are a lot of query parameters that get accepted by the method. At least two of those, videoCodec and audioCodec are vulnerable to the argument injection. The values can be traced through a lot of code and might be changed in the process. However, the fallback is to always use them as-is, which means we can inject our own arguments. Those arguments land in the command line of FFmpeg. Because UseShellExecute is always set to false, we can’t simply terminate the FFmpeg command and execute our own. It should only be possible to add additional arguments to FFmpeg, which is powerful enough as it stands. There is probably a way of overwriting an arbitrary file with malicious content. This vulnerability has been addressed in version 10.8.13. Users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability. Weakness: CWE-88 (Improper Neutralization of Argument Delimiters in a Command) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-49096? It affects 1 product. Products: Jellyfin Jellyfin. ## How do I fix CVE-2023-49096? No fix has been published for CVE-2023-49096 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available. ## Is CVE-2023-49096 being exploited? It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2023-49096 exists. ## Other vulnerabilities in jellyfin - [CVE-2026-35031](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-35031/): Jellyfin: Potential RCE via subtitle upload path traversal + .strm chain (critical 10.0) - [CVE-2026-31852](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-31852/): Jellyfin Possible Organization/Secret Compromise from dangerous CI implementation (critical 10.0) - [CVE-2026-35033](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-35033/): Jellyfin: Potential SSRF + Arbitrary file read via stream argument injection (critical 9.3) - [CVE-2023-30627](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-30627/): jellyfin-web has a stored cross-site scripting vulnerability in devices.js (critical 9.1) - [CVE-2023-30626](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-30626/): Jellyfin vulnerable to directory traversal and file write causing arbitrary code execution (high 8.8) ## Fix prompt for AI coding agents ```text Check this codebase for CVE-2023-49096 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2023-49096 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in jellyfin, published on 6 Dec 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim. Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2023-49096 exists. Affected product: jellyfin. 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-2023-49096/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-49096/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-49096 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-49096 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-49096 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-49096/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.