How severe is CVE-2019-17542?

CVE-2019-17542 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8, rated critical severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2019-17542 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 2% (81st percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2019-17542?

CVE-2019-17542 primarily affects Ffmpeg. In total, 7 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2019-17542?

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

When was CVE-2019-17542 published?

CVE-2019-17542 was published on 2019-10-14 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2019-17542

CVE-2019-17542 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Ffmpeg with a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8. 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-787.

Key facts

Severity: Critical (CVSS 3.x base score 9.8)
CVSS v2: 7.5
EPSS exploit prediction: 2% (81st percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-787
Affected product: Ffmpeg
Published: 2019-10-14
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

FFmpeg before 4.2 has a heap-based buffer overflow in vqa_decode_chunk because of an out-of-array access in vqa_decode_init in libavcodec/vqavideo.c.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2019-17542?: FFmpeg before 4.2 has a heap-based buffer overflow in vqa_decode_chunk because of an out-of-array access in vqa_decode_init in libavcodec/vqavideo.c.
How severe is CVE-2019-17542?: CVE-2019-17542 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8, rated critical severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2019-17542 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 2% (81st percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2019-17542?: CVE-2019-17542 primarily affects Ffmpeg. In total, 7 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2019-17542?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2019-17542 published?: CVE-2019-17542 was published on 2019-10-14 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (7)

cpe:2.3:a:ffmpeg:ffmpeg:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:16.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:18.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:20.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:10.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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