CVE-2024-36618

What it actually does

Integer overflow in the AVI demuxer of libavformat triggered by malformed input, resulting in denial-of-service.

Why it matters to the business

Media-processing applications and services using FFmpeg may crash or become unavailable, interrupting video workflows and increasing operational overhead until fixed.

How an attack unfolds

An attacker crafts a malicious AVI file that exploits the integer overflow in the demuxer; when the target application processes the file with the vulnerable FFmpeg library, the overflow occurs and triggers a crash.

How to fix it

Upgrade FFmpeg to a build containing commit 7a089ed8e049e3bfcb22de1250b86f2106060857 or later; rebuild dependent applications against the patched library.

How to confirm the fix worked

Confirm the installed FFmpeg binary or library reports a version after the listed commit; re-test with known trigger AVI files to verify absence of crash.

Typical attack path

1. Craft AVI file containing values that trigger integer overflow in libavformat demuxer
2. Deliver the file to an application that invokes FFmpeg for AVI parsing
3. Trigger file processing via user action or automated pipeline
4. Cause overflow leading to process crash or DoS

How to detect it

Review application and system logs for FFmpeg crashes or segmentation faults during AVI file handling; inspect any recently received AVI files for anomalous header or index values.

What your security team should do

• Prioritize updating all FFmpeg installations and rebuilds to the fixed commit
• Inventory applications and containers that embed or depend on the vulnerable library
• Add FFmpeg version checks to build pipelines and dependency scanners