CVE-2021-28899
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in LIVE555 Streaming Media allows remote attackers to cause a denial-of-service (DoS) or potentially execute arbitrary code via specially crafted audio streams. It affects systems using LIVE555 for streaming media services before version 2021.3.16.
💻 Affected Systems
- LIVE555 Streaming Media
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Remote code execution leading to complete system compromise and data exfiltration
Likely Case
Service crash causing denial-of-service for streaming applications
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper network segmentation and minimal privileges
🎯 Exploit Status
Vulnerability requires sending specially crafted audio streams to vulnerable endpoints
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 2021.3.16
Vendor Advisory: http://lists.live555.com/pipermail/live-devel/2021-March/021891.html
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Download LIVE555 version 2021.3.16 or later from live555.com 2. Replace existing installation with patched version 3. Recompile any custom applications using LIVE555 libraries 4. Restart streaming services
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Network Segmentation
linuxRestrict access to LIVE555 streaming endpoints to trusted networks only
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport [LIVE555_PORT] -s [TRUSTED_NETWORK] -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport [LIVE555_PORT] -j DROP
Input Validation
allImplement proxy/filter to validate audio streams before reaching LIVE555
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict network access controls to limit exposure
- Monitor for abnormal streaming traffic patterns and service crashes
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check LIVE555 version: grep 'LIVE555_VERSION' in source files or check installed package versionCheck Version:
strings /path/to/live555/binaries | grep LIVE555_VERSIONVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm version is 2021.3.16 or later and test with valid audio streams📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unexpected service crashes
- Memory access violation errors
- Abnormal audio stream processing errors
Network Indicators:
- Unusual audio stream patterns to LIVE555 ports
- Multiple connection attempts with malformed audio data
SIEM Query:
source="*live555*" AND (error OR crash OR "access violation")