CVE-2024-47777: GStreamer Use-After-Free Vulnerability

CVE-2024-47777 Overview

CVE-2024-47777 is an Out-of-Bounds Read vulnerability discovered in GStreamer, a widely-used open-source multimedia framework for constructing graphs of media-handling components. The vulnerability exists in the gst_wavparse_smpl_chunk function within gstwavparse.c, where the code attempts to read 4 bytes from a data buffer at an offset of 12 without first verifying that the buffer contains sufficient data. When processing a malformed WAV file with an undersized buffer, this function reads beyond the allocated memory boundaries.

Critical Impact

Successful exploitation may allow attackers to read 4 bytes outside the boundaries of the data buffer, potentially leading to information disclosure or application crashes when processing maliciously crafted WAV audio files.

Affected Products

• GStreamer versions prior to 1.24.10
• Applications and systems using vulnerable GStreamer libraries for multimedia processing
• Linux distributions with bundled GStreamer packages (including Debian)

Discovery Timeline

• 2024-12-12 - CVE-2024-47777 published to NVD
• 2026-03-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-47777

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-125 (Out-of-Bounds Read), a memory safety issue that occurs when software reads data past the end or before the beginning of an intended buffer. In the context of CVE-2024-47777, the gst_wavparse_smpl_chunk function in GStreamer's WAV parser module performs an unsafe memory read operation.

The function processes sample chunk data from WAV files without implementing proper bounds checking. Specifically, when parsing the sample chunk metadata, the code directly accesses memory at data + 12 to read a 4-byte value. However, the function fails to verify that the input buffer actually contains at least 16 bytes (12 bytes offset plus 4 bytes to read). This oversight allows processing of truncated or malformed WAV files to trigger the out-of-bounds read condition.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is insufficient input validation before performing memory access operations. The gst_wavparse_smpl_chunk function does not validate the size of the incoming data buffer before attempting to read from a fixed offset position. This missing bounds check means that when a maliciously crafted or corrupted WAV file with an undersized sample chunk is processed, the parser reads memory beyond the allocated buffer, potentially accessing uninitialized or sensitive data.

Attack Vector

This vulnerability requires local access to be exploited. An attacker must craft a malicious WAV audio file containing a truncated or malformed sample chunk structure. The attack vector involves:

1. Creating a WAV file with a sample chunk header that indicates a certain data size
2. Providing actual chunk data smaller than the expected 16 bytes minimum
3. Having a victim open or process the malicious file using an application that relies on vulnerable GStreamer libraries
4. The gst_wavparse_smpl_chunk function attempts to read beyond the buffer boundaries when parsing the malformed chunk

The vulnerability manifests within the WAV parsing logic in gstwavparse.c. When processing the sample chunk, the code reads 4 bytes from offset 12 without verifying buffer size adequacy. This can be triggered when GStreamer-based applications attempt to parse maliciously crafted WAV files. For complete technical details, refer to the GitHub Security Advisory GHSL-2024-259.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-47777

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected application crashes when processing WAV audio files
• Memory access violations or segmentation faults in GStreamer-based multimedia applications
• Anomalous WAV files with unusually small sample chunk sizes in untrusted media directories

Detection Strategies

• Monitor for crash reports and core dumps involving gstwavparse.c or gst_wavparse_smpl_chunk function calls
• Implement file integrity monitoring for media processing directories to detect suspicious WAV files
• Deploy runtime memory safety tools (AddressSanitizer, Valgrind) in development and testing environments to detect out-of-bounds read attempts

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable verbose logging in GStreamer applications to track WAV file parsing operations
• Implement input validation at the application level to reject malformed or suspicious media files before passing them to GStreamer
• Monitor system logs for repeated GStreamer-related crashes that may indicate exploitation attempts

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-47777

Immediate Actions Required

• Update GStreamer to version 1.24.10 or later which contains the security fix
• Audit systems for vulnerable GStreamer versions using package management tools
• Consider restricting processing of untrusted WAV files until patches are applied
• Review Debian LTS systems and apply updates from the Debian LTS Announcement

Patch Information

GStreamer has released version 1.24.10 which addresses this vulnerability by implementing proper bounds checking before reading from the data buffer in the gst_wavparse_smpl_chunk function. The official patch is available through the GitLab Merge Request Patch. Additional details about this security fix can be found in the GStreamer Security Advisory.

Workarounds

• Restrict access to multimedia processing functionality to trusted users only
• Implement application-level input validation to reject WAV files with malformed chunk structures
• Consider using containerization or sandboxing for GStreamer-based applications processing untrusted media files

# Check installed GStreamer version
gst-launch-1.0 --version

# Update GStreamer on Debian-based systems
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade libgstreamer1.0-0 gstreamer1.0-plugins-base gstreamer1.0-plugins-good

# Verify updated version
dpkg -l | grep gstreamer