How severe is CVE-2017-9991?

CVE-2017-9991 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.8, rated high severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2017-9991 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 2% (76th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2017-9991?

CVE-2017-9991 primarily affects Ffmpeg. In total, 23 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2017-9991?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

When was CVE-2017-9991 published?

CVE-2017-9991 was published on 2017-06-28 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2017-9991

CVE-2017-9991 is a high-severity vulnerability in Ffmpeg with a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.8. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-119.

Key facts

Severity: High (CVSS 3.x base score 7.8)
CVSS v2: 6.8
EPSS exploit prediction: 2% (76th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-119
Affected product: Ffmpeg
Published: 2017-06-28
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

Heap-based buffer overflow in the xwd_decode_frame function in libavcodec/xwddec.c in FFmpeg before 2.8.12, 3.0.x before 3.0.8, 3.1.x before 3.1.8, 3.2.x before 3.2.5, and 3.3.x before 3.3.1 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted file.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2017-9991?: Heap-based buffer overflow in the xwd_decode_frame function in libavcodec/xwddec.c in FFmpeg before 2.8.12, 3.0.x before 3.0.8, 3.1.x before 3.1.8, 3.2.x before 3.2.5, and 3.3.x before 3.3.1 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted file.
How severe is CVE-2017-9991?: CVE-2017-9991 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.8, rated high severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2017-9991 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 2% (76th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2017-9991?: CVE-2017-9991 primarily affects Ffmpeg. In total, 23 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2017-9991?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2017-9991 published?: CVE-2017-9991 was published on 2017-06-28 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (23)

cpe:2.3:a:ffmpeg:ffmpeg:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ffmpeg:ffmpeg:3.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ffmpeg:ffmpeg:3.0.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ffmpeg:ffmpeg:3.0.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ffmpeg:ffmpeg:3.0.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ffmpeg:ffmpeg:3.0.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ffmpeg:ffmpeg:3.0.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ffmpeg:ffmpeg:3.0.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ffmpeg:ffmpeg:3.0.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ffmpeg:ffmpeg:3.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ffmpeg:ffmpeg:3.1.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ffmpeg:ffmpeg:3.1.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ffmpeg:ffmpeg:3.1.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ffmpeg:ffmpeg:3.1.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ffmpeg:ffmpeg:3.1.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ffmpeg:ffmpeg:3.1.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ffmpeg:ffmpeg:3.1.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ffmpeg:ffmpeg:3.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ffmpeg:ffmpeg:3.2.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ffmpeg:ffmpeg:3.2.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ffmpeg:ffmpeg:3.2.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ffmpeg:ffmpeg:3.2.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ffmpeg:ffmpeg:3.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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CVE-2013-0873 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): The read_header function in libavcodec/shorten.c in FFmpeg before 1.1.3 allows remote attackers to have an unspecified…
CVE-2013-0872 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): The swr_init function in libswresample/swresample.c in FFmpeg before 1.1.3 allows remote attackers to have an…
CVE-2011-3937 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): The H.263 codec (libavcodec/h263dec.c) in FFmpeg 0.7.x before 0.7.12, 0.8.x before 0.8.11, and unspecified versions…
CVE-2012-2804 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Unspecified vulnerability in libavcodec/indeo3.c in FFmpeg before 0.11 and Libav 0.8.x before 0.8.5 has unknown impact…

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