CVE-2025-47808
📋 TL;DR
A NULL pointer dereference vulnerability in GStreamer's subparse plugin can cause application crashes when processing malicious subtitle files. This affects applications using GStreamer for media playback that handle subtitle files. The vulnerability is triggered during subtitle parsing and leads to denial of service.
💻 Affected Systems
- GStreamer
- Applications using GStreamer for media playback
📦 What is this software?
Gstreamer by Gstreamer Project
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Application crash leading to denial of service for media playback functionality, potentially disrupting services that rely on GStreamer for processing media with subtitles.
Likely Case
Application instability or crash when processing specially crafted subtitle files, affecting media playback in affected applications.
If Mitigated
Minimal impact with proper input validation and sandboxing; crashes would be contained within the media processing component.
🎯 Exploit Status
Requires crafting a malicious subtitle file and getting it processed by vulnerable GStreamer instance. No authentication bypass needed if subtitle processing is accessible.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: GStreamer 1.26.2 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://gstreamer.freedesktop.org/security/
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Check current GStreamer version. 2. Update to GStreamer 1.26.2 or later using your distribution's package manager. 3. For source builds: download latest release from gstreamer.freedesktop.org and rebuild.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable subparse plugin
allPrevent use of vulnerable subparse plugin by removing or disabling it
gst-inspect-1.0 --plugin-filters="name=subparse"
Remove or rename subparse plugin file
Input validation for subtitle files
allImplement strict validation of subtitle files before processing
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement application-level sandboxing for media processing components
- Restrict subtitle file processing to trusted sources only
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check GStreamer version: gst-inspect-1.0 --version. If version is 1.26.1 or earlier, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
gst-inspect-1.0 --versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify GStreamer version is 1.26.2 or later: gst-inspect-1.0 --version📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Application crashes with segmentation faults in GStreamer processes
- Error logs mentioning subparse plugin failures
- Core dumps from media playback applications
Network Indicators:
- Unusual subtitle file uploads to media processing services
- Multiple failed media processing attempts
SIEM Query:
Process:gst* AND (EventID:1000 OR Signal:SIGSEGV) OR FilePath:*subtitle* AND Action:Upload