CVE-2025-70309: GPAC Stack Overflow DoS Vulnerability

CVE-2025-70309 Overview

A stack overflow vulnerability exists in the pcmreframe_flush_packet function of GPAC v2.4.0. This vulnerability allows attackers to cause a Denial of Service (DoS) condition by crafting a malicious WAV file that triggers the overflow when processed by the application.

Critical Impact
Attackers can crash GPAC applications by providing specially crafted WAV files, leading to denial of service and potential disruption of multimedia processing workflows.

Affected Products

GPAC v2.4.0
Applications utilizing GPAC v2.4.0 for multimedia processing
Systems processing untrusted WAV files with GPAC

Discovery Timeline

2026-01-15 - CVE CVE-2025-70309 published to NVD
2026-01-16 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-70309

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-121 (Stack-based Buffer Overflow), which occurs when a buffer being written to is allocated on the stack and the write operation exceeds the bounds of that buffer. In the context of GPAC's pcmreframe_flush_packet function, the stack overflow is triggered during the processing of PCM audio data from WAV files.

The vulnerability requires local access and user interaction, meaning an attacker must convince a user to open a malicious WAV file with GPAC or an application that uses GPAC for multimedia processing. While the attack complexity is low, the impact is limited to availability—the vulnerability does not allow for information disclosure or integrity violations.

Root Cause

The root cause lies in the pcmreframe_flush_packet function within GPAC v2.4.0, which fails to properly validate the size of input data from WAV files before writing to a stack-allocated buffer. When processing a specially crafted WAV file with malformed headers or oversized data segments, the function writes beyond the allocated stack buffer boundaries, causing stack corruption and ultimately leading to application termination.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is local, requiring user interaction to trigger the vulnerability. An attacker must craft a malicious WAV file with specific characteristics designed to exploit the buffer handling weakness in the pcmreframe_flush_packet function.

The attack scenario typically involves:

Attacker creates a malicious WAV file with crafted PCM data designed to overflow the stack buffer
Victim opens or processes the malicious WAV file using GPAC v2.4.0 or an application utilizing GPAC
The pcmreframe_flush_packet function processes the malformed data without proper bounds checking
Stack overflow occurs, corrupting the stack and causing the application to crash

Technical details and a proof-of-concept demonstrating this vulnerability are available in the GitHub PoC Repository.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-70309

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected crashes or terminations of GPAC or applications using GPAC when processing WAV files
Stack overflow error messages in application logs during multimedia file processing
Presence of unusually structured or oversized WAV files in user directories or temporary folders
Repeated application restarts following WAV file processing attempts

Detection Strategies

Monitor for abnormal process terminations of GPAC-based applications, particularly following media file operations
Implement file integrity monitoring for incoming WAV files to detect anomalous file structures
Deploy endpoint detection rules to identify stack overflow patterns in GPAC process memory
Use SentinelOne's behavioral AI to detect crash patterns associated with malicious file processing

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable detailed logging for multimedia processing applications to capture pre-crash state information
Configure crash dump analysis for GPAC processes to identify stack overflow patterns
Implement file sandboxing for untrusted WAV files before processing with GPAC
Monitor system stability metrics for applications dependent on GPAC multimedia processing

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-70309

Immediate Actions Required

Avoid processing untrusted WAV files with GPAC v2.4.0 until a patch is available
Implement input validation for WAV files before passing them to GPAC for processing
Consider using alternative multimedia frameworks for processing untrusted media content
Isolate GPAC processing in sandboxed environments to limit DoS impact

Patch Information

At the time of publication, no official patch has been released for this vulnerability. Users should monitor the official GPAC project for security updates. The vulnerability details and proof-of-concept are documented in the GitHub PoC Repository.

Organizations using GPAC v2.4.0 in production environments should:

Track the GPAC project's release notes for security patches addressing the pcmreframe_flush_packet stack overflow
Consider upgrading to newer versions of GPAC when patches become available
Implement compensating controls until an official fix is released

Workarounds

Implement strict file validation to reject malformed or suspicious WAV files before GPAC processing
Run GPAC in isolated containers or sandboxed environments to contain potential crashes
Limit user access to GPAC-based applications to trusted users only
Deploy application-level crash recovery mechanisms to minimize service disruption from DoS attacks

bash

# Configuration example - File validation before GPAC processing
# Validate WAV file structure before processing
file input.wav | grep -q "RIFF.*WAVE" || exit 1

# Check file size to detect potentially malicious oversized files
MAX_SIZE=104857600  # 100MB limit
FILE_SIZE=$(stat -f%z input.wav 2>/dev/null || stat -c%s input.wav)
[ "$FILE_SIZE" -lt "$MAX_SIZE" ] || exit 1

# Process only after validation passes
gpac -i input.wav -o output.mp4