CVE-2025-60471: GPAC MP4Box Use-After-Free DoS Flaw

CVE-2025-60471 Overview

CVE-2025-60471 is a use-after-free vulnerability in the gf_filter_pid_reconfigure_task_discard function located in src/filter_core/filter_pid.c of the GPAC Project's MP4Box utility. Versions of GPAC before 26.02.0 are affected. An attacker can trigger the flaw by supplying a crafted media file that causes the filter PID instance to be referenced after it has been freed. Successful exploitation results in a denial of service (DoS) of the MP4Box process. The vulnerability is tracked under CWE-416: Use After Free.

Critical Impact
Processing a malicious media file with MP4Box crashes the application, disrupting automated media workflows and transcoding pipelines that rely on GPAC.

Affected Products

GPAC Project MP4Box versions prior to 26.02.0
GPAC Project libgpac filter core (src/filter_core/filter_pid.c)
Applications and pipelines embedding vulnerable GPAC builds

Discovery Timeline

2026-06-24 - CVE-2025-60471 published to the National Vulnerability Database
2026-06-24 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-60471

Vulnerability Analysis

The defect resides in GPAC's filter pipeline logic, which manages PID (packet identifier) instances during media filter graph reconfiguration. When a crafted media file forces the filter graph to reconfigure and discard a PID instance, the code path executes gf_filter_pid_inst_del(pidinst) even when a configure_task_discard task is already pending on the same PID instance. The pending task subsequently dereferences memory that the deletion call already released. The resulting use-after-free corrupts process state and aborts execution.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing coordination between the PID instance deletion path and the asynchronous configure_task_discard task. The original code did not check the discard_inputs state before freeing the PID instance, allowing both code paths to operate on the same object. CWE-416 applies because the freed pointer remains reachable by the deferred discard task.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires local access and user interaction: a victim must open the malicious media container with MP4Box or a host application using libgpac. The attacker does not need any privileges on the target system. The impact is limited to availability, with no confidentiality or integrity loss reported.

// Patch in src/filter_core/filter_pid.c - Fixed GPAC issue #3279
	if (filter->detached_pid_inst && (gf_list_find(filter->detached_pid_inst, pidinst)>=0) )
		return;
 
-	gf_filter_pid_inst_del(pidinst);
+	//we posted a configure_task_discard on this PID, mark as "to be destroyed" and let thet task destroy the pid
+	if (pidinst->discard_inputs==2) {
+		pidinst->discard_inputs = 3;
+	} else {
+		gf_filter_pid_inst_del(pidinst);
+	}
 
 	if (filter->num_input_pids) return;
 	//we still have other pid instances registered for chain reconfigure, don't discard the filter

Source: GPAC commit 868c6801. The patch defers destruction when a discard task is already queued (discard_inputs==2), transitioning the state to 3 so the pending task safely tears down the PID instance.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-60471

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected MP4Box or libgpac process crashes with SIGSEGV or SIGABRT during media parsing
Core dumps referencing gf_filter_pid_reconfigure_task_discard or gf_filter_pid_inst_del in the call stack
Media transcoding jobs terminating mid-process when handling untrusted input files

Detection Strategies

Inventory hosts and containers running GPAC or MP4Box and identify versions prior to 26.02.0
Run AddressSanitizer (ASan) builds of GPAC against incoming media samples to surface use-after-free conditions
Hunt process termination telemetry for MP4Box exiting abnormally after opening files from untrusted sources

Monitoring Recommendations

Log all MP4Box invocations including command line arguments and source file paths in batch processing systems
Alert on repeated abnormal exits of GPAC binaries within short time windows
Correlate file ingestion events with downstream process crashes in media workflows

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-60471

Immediate Actions Required

Upgrade GPAC and MP4Box to version 26.02.0 or later, which contains commit 868c6801
Restrict MP4Box execution to sandboxed contexts when processing files from untrusted users
Audit automated media pipelines to ensure they validate file sources before invoking GPAC

Patch Information

The fix is committed upstream in the GPAC repository. Reference the GPAC commit 868c6801c226e9964cace54cfd5a759f152780b4 and the corresponding GitHub issue #3279. Proof-of-concept artifacts are published in the sigdevel PoC repository.

Workarounds

Avoid processing untrusted or attacker-supplied media files with vulnerable MP4Box builds
Run MP4Box under a restricted user account with resource limits and seccomp filtering
Isolate media processing workloads in ephemeral containers that recover from crashes automatically

bash

# Verify installed GPAC version and replace with patched build
MP4Box -version 2>&1 | head -n1

# Example: rebuild from a patched source tree
git clone https://github.com/gpac/gpac.git
cd gpac
git checkout 868c6801c226e9964cace54cfd5a759f152780b4
./configure && make -j$(nproc) && sudo make install

# Run MP4Box under a sandbox when handling untrusted inputs
firejail --noprofile --net=none --private-tmp MP4Box -info /path/to/untrusted.mp4