CVE-2024-5197: Libvpx Buffer Overflow Vulnerability

CVE-2024-5197 Overview

CVE-2024-5197 is an integer overflow vulnerability affecting libvpx, the popular open-source VP8 and VP9 video codec library maintained by the WebM Project. The vulnerability exists in versions prior to 1.14.1 and can be triggered through the vpx_img_alloc() and vpx_img_wrap() functions when large values are passed for the d_w, d_h, align, or stride_align parameters. This results in integer overflows during buffer size and offset calculations, potentially causing invalid data in the returned vpx_image_t struct.

Critical Impact

Applications processing untrusted media content through libvpx could be vulnerable to memory corruption attacks if attackers can control image dimension parameters passed to affected allocation functions.

Affected Products

• webmproject libvpx (versions prior to 1.14.1)
• debian debian_linux 10.0
• Applications and libraries that depend on libvpx for VP8/VP9 video processing

Discovery Timeline

• 2024-06-03 - CVE-2024-5197 published to NVD
• 2025-07-22 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-5197

Vulnerability Analysis

This integer overflow vulnerability (CWE-190) affects the image allocation and wrapping functions within libvpx. When the vpx_img_alloc() function is called with excessively large values for the d_w (display width), d_h (display height), or align parameters, the internal arithmetic operations calculating buffer sizes and memory offsets can overflow. Similarly, vpx_img_wrap() is vulnerable when large values are provided for d_w, d_h, or stride_align parameters.

The integer overflow occurs because the library performs multiplication operations on these dimension and alignment values without adequate bounds checking. When the result of these calculations exceeds the maximum value that can be stored in the integer type being used, the value wraps around, resulting in a much smaller-than-expected buffer allocation. This creates a dangerous mismatch between the actual allocated buffer size and what the application believes was allocated.

Root Cause

The root cause lies in insufficient validation of input parameters before performing arithmetic operations in the vpx_img_alloc() and vpx_img_wrap() functions. The library multiplies width, height, and alignment values to calculate buffer sizes without first checking whether these operations would result in integer overflow. When overflow occurs, some fields of the returned vpx_image_t struct become invalid, potentially leading to subsequent buffer overflows when the application attempts to write image data to the undersized buffer.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based, though exploitation requires specific conditions to be met. An attacker would need to craft malicious media content or API calls that cause the target application to invoke vpx_img_alloc() or vpx_img_wrap() with attacker-controlled dimension or alignment parameters. This could occur when:

• Processing maliciously crafted video files with manipulated header values
• Handling video streams from untrusted sources
• Applications that expose libvpx configuration parameters through user-controlled inputs

The exploitation complexity is considered high, as successful exploitation depends on how the target application handles the corrupted vpx_image_t struct and whether subsequent operations use the invalid field values.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-5197

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual crashes or segmentation faults in applications using libvpx during video processing
• Memory access violations in video codec operations involving VP8/VP9 content
• Abnormal allocation patterns or failed memory allocations in multimedia processing workflows
• Application logs showing unexpected values in image dimension or buffer size fields

Detection Strategies

• Monitor for abnormally large values passed to video processing functions in application-level instrumentation
• Deploy memory sanitizers (AddressSanitizer, UndefinedBehaviorSanitizer) in development and testing environments to detect integer overflow conditions
• Implement file integrity monitoring on libvpx shared library files to detect unauthorized modifications
• Use static analysis tools to identify code paths that pass untrusted input to vpx_img_alloc() or vpx_img_wrap()

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging for video processing applications to capture dimension and allocation parameters
• Monitor system memory allocation patterns for anomalies during media processing operations
• Track application crash reports and core dumps that reference libvpx functions
• Implement runtime application self-protection (RASP) to detect exploitation attempts

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-5197

Immediate Actions Required

• Upgrade libvpx to version 1.14.1 or later immediately on all affected systems
• Audit applications that use libvpx to identify which systems require updates
• Review and update container images and virtual machine templates that include vulnerable libvpx versions
• For Debian 10 users, apply the security update referenced in the Debian LTS Announcement

Patch Information

The WebM Project has addressed this vulnerability in libvpx version 1.14.1. The fix adds proper bounds checking to prevent integer overflow conditions in the vpx_img_alloc() and vpx_img_wrap() functions. Organizations should update to this version or later to remediate the vulnerability.

Additional technical details about the fix can be found in the Chromium Issue Tracker Entry.

Workarounds

• Implement input validation at the application layer to reject excessively large dimension values before they reach libvpx functions
• Use compile-time hardening options such as integer overflow detection flags when building applications that use libvpx
• Restrict processing of video content to trusted sources until patching is complete
• Consider using application-level sandboxing to limit the impact of potential exploitation

# Check installed libvpx version on Debian/Ubuntu systems
dpkg -l | grep libvpx

# Update libvpx on Debian-based systems
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade libvpx7

# Verify the installed version is 1.14.1 or later
pkg-config --modversion vpx