CVE-2026-56711 - Vulnerability Details

- VLC media player 3.0.0 through 3.0.23 memory corruption vulnerability

Description

VLC media player versions 3.0.0 through 3.0.23 contain a memory-safety vulnerability reachable when processing crafted media. Exploitation requires user interaction and may result in application termination or code execution with the privileges of the VLC process.

Published: 2026-09-09

Score: 7.3 High

EPSS: < 1% Very Low

KEV: No

Impact:

Action:

Analysis

Impact

The vulnerability is a memory‑safety flaw that can be triggered by processing crafted media files. Based on the description, it is inferred that the attack vector requires the user to open a malicious media file, meaning exploitation requires user interaction. The flaw allows the attacker to either cause the VLC process to terminate or execute code with the privileges of that process.

Affected Systems

All versions of VideoLAN VLC media player from 3.0.0 up to and including 3.0.23 are affected. No sub‑version specific patches are listed; the vulnerability resides in the core picture allocation routines shared across these releases.

Risk and Exploitability

The CVSS score of 7.3 indicates a moderate‑to‑high severity vulnerability. EPSS data remains low, at < 1%, suggesting a very low likelihood of widespread exploitation in the near term. The flaw is not catalogued in the CISA KEV list. The attack requires a malicious media file to be opened by the user; the attack vector is therefore user‑directed, and exploitation is classified as user‑initiated. If exploited, the attacker may cause the VLC process to terminate or execute code with the process's privileges, potentially compromising the host system.

Default status is the baseline for the product, each version can override it (e.g. patched versions marked unaffected).

Vendor Product Default status Versions

VideoLAN

VLC media player

unaffected

Version	Status	Constraints
`3.0.0`	affected	≤ 3.0.23

No data.

Vendor Product Confidence Versions

Videolan

Vlc Media Player

95%

Version	Status	Scheme	Platform
`[3.0.0,3.0.23]`	affected	semver	—

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Remediation

No vendor fix or workaround currently provided.

OpenCVE Recommended Actions

Update VLC media player to a version that fixes the integer overflow in picture allocation.
Until the update can be applied, avoid opening unknown PNG files or playlists that may contain large dimensions.
Configure your environment or VLC policy settings to reject or quarantine PNG files with dimensions exceeding safe thresholds.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on September 21, 2026 at 05:36 UTC.

Tracking

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Advisories

Source	ID	Title
Debian DSA	DSA-6515-1	vlc security update

Attack Vector Local

Attack Complexity High

Privileges Required None

Attack Requirements None

User Interaction Passive

Vulnerable System Confidentiality Impact High

Vulnerable System Integrity Impact High

Vulnerable System Availability Impact High

Subsequent System Confidentiality Impact None

Subsequent System Integrity Impact None

Subsequent System Availability Impact None

Attack Vector Local

Attack Complexity High

Privileges Required None

Scope Unchanged

Confidentiality Impact High

Integrity Impact High

Availability Impact High

User Interaction Required

No CVSS v3.0

No CVSS v2

This CVE is not in the KEV list.

The EPSS score is 0.0012.

Exploitation none

Automatable no

Technical Impact total

References

Link	Providers
https://github.com/videolan/vlc
https://github.com/videolan/vlc/blob/3.0.23/include/vlc_picture.h
https://github.com/videolan/vlc/blob/3.0.23/modules/codec/png.c
https://github.com/videolan/vlc/blob/3.0.23/modules/demux/image.c
https://github.com/videolan/vlc/blob/3.0.23/src/misc/picture.c
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-56711
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-56711
https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/vlc-media-player-3.0.0-through-3.0.23-heap-out-of-bounds-write-via-integer-overflow-in-picture-allocation

History

Fri, 18 Sep 2026 21:30:00 +0000

Type	Values Removed	Values Added
Metrics		ssvc `{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'total'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}`

Mon, 14 Sep 2026 10:45:00 +0000

Type	Values Removed	Values Added
Description	VLC media player computes the size of a picture buffer with 32-bit arithmetic and allocates from the wrapped result. In AllocatePicture in src/misc/picture.c the running total is accumulated as i_bytes += p->i_pitch * p->i_lines, and both plane_t fields are declared int in include/vlc_picture.h, so the multiplication is evaluated at 32 bits and wraps before it is widened to the size_t accumulator. The overflow check that precedes it divides in 64-bit arithmetic and therefore does not constrain the product, and the subsequent comparison against PICTURE_SW_SIZE_MAX examines the already wrapped value, so both guards pass. aligned_alloc then reserves the small wrapped size while the decoder writes scanlines sized from the original dimensions. A crafted PNG whose IHDR declares large width and height reaches this path through the image demuxer, whose only size guard is on the input file's byte count rather than the declared dimensions, and the decoder in modules/codec/png.c writes past the end of the allocation with attacker-influenced length and content. Opening the file directly or through a playlist entry is sufficient, with no non-default settings.	VLC media player versions 3.0.0 through 3.0.23 contain a memory-safety vulnerability reachable when processing crafted media. Exploitation requires user interaction and may result in application termination or code execution with the privileges of the VLC process.
Title	VLC media player 3.0.0 through 3.0.23 Heap Out-of-Bounds Write via Integer Overflow in Picture Allocation	VLC media player 3.0.0 through 3.0.23 memory corruption vulnerability
Metrics	cvssV3_1 `{'score': 8.8, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}` cvssV4_0 `{'score': 8.6, 'vector': 'CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N'}`	cvssV3_1 `{'score': 7, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}` cvssV4_0 `{'score': 7.3, 'vector': 'CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:H/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N'}`

Thu, 10 Sep 2026 00:15:00 +0000

Type	Values Removed	Values Added
References		https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-56711 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-56711
Metrics	threat_severity `None`	threat_severity `Important`

Wed, 09 Sep 2026 13:45:00 +0000

Type	Values Removed	Values Added
Description		VLC media player computes the size of a picture buffer with 32-bit arithmetic and allocates from the wrapped result. In AllocatePicture in src/misc/picture.c the running total is accumulated as i_bytes += p->i_pitch * p->i_lines, and both plane_t fields are declared int in include/vlc_picture.h, so the multiplication is evaluated at 32 bits and wraps before it is widened to the size_t accumulator. The overflow check that precedes it divides in 64-bit arithmetic and therefore does not constrain the product, and the subsequent comparison against PICTURE_SW_SIZE_MAX examines the already wrapped value, so both guards pass. aligned_alloc then reserves the small wrapped size while the decoder writes scanlines sized from the original dimensions. A crafted PNG whose IHDR declares large width and height reaches this path through the image demuxer, whose only size guard is on the input file's byte count rather than the declared dimensions, and the decoder in modules/codec/png.c writes past the end of the allocation with attacker-influenced length and content. Opening the file directly or through a playlist entry is sufficient, with no non-default settings.
Title		VLC media player 3.0.0 through 3.0.23 Heap Out-of-Bounds Write via Integer Overflow in Picture Allocation
First Time appeared		Videolan Videolan vlc Media Player
Weaknesses		CWE-190 CWE-787
CPEs		cpe:2.3:a:videolan:vlc_media_player::::::::
Vendors & Products		Videolan Videolan vlc Media Player
References		https://github.com/videolan/vlc https://github.com/videolan/vlc/blob/3.0.23/include/vlc_picture.h https://github.com/videolan/vlc/blob/3.0.23/modules/codec/png.c https://github.com/videolan/vlc/blob/3.0.23/modules/demux/image.c https://github.com/videolan/vlc/blob/3.0.23/src/misc/picture.c https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/vlc-media-player-3.0.0-through-3.0.23-heap-out-of-bounds-write-via-integer-overflow-in-picture-allocation
Metrics		cvssV3_1 `{'score': 8.8, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}` cvssV4_0 `{'score': 8.6, 'vector': 'CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N'}`

Subscriptions

Videolan Vlc Media Player

MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: VulnCheck

Published: 2026-09-09T13:31:58.330Z

Updated: 2026-09-18T17:23:09.134Z

Reserved: 2026-06-22T18:48:27.060Z

Link: CVE-2026-56711

Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-09-18T17:17:45.878Z

NVD

Status : Deferred

Published: 2026-09-09T14:17:12.717

Modified: 2026-09-18T18:17:07.347

Link: CVE-2026-56711

Redhat

Severity : Important

Publid Date: 2026-09-09T13:31:58Z

Links: CVE-2026-56711 - Bugzilla

OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-09-21T05:45:10Z

Weaknesses

CWE-190
Integer Overflow or Wraparound
CWE-787
Out-of-bounds Write

Impact

Affected Systems

Risk and Exploitability

Tracking

Attack Vector Local

Attack Complexity High

Privileges Required None

Attack Requirements None

User Interaction Passive

Vulnerable System Confidentiality Impact High

Vulnerable System Integrity Impact High

Vulnerable System Availability Impact High

Subsequent System Confidentiality Impact None

Subsequent System Integrity Impact None

Subsequent System Availability Impact None

Attack Vector Local

Attack Complexity High

Privileges Required None

Scope Unchanged

Confidentiality Impact High

Integrity Impact High

Availability Impact High

User Interaction Required

Exploitation none

Automatable no

Technical Impact total

Subscriptions

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