Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-40475

Memory Safety in Gstreamer ≤ 1.22.6

Published
03 May 2024
Modified
17 March 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.019 77th percentile
Risk Priority 72 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-40475 is a high-severity Integer Overflow or Wraparound (CWE-190) vulnerability in Gstreamer Gstreamer. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked in the top 23% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SA-8 (Security and Privacy Engineering Principles) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

GStreamer is affected by an integer overflow vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2023-40475 and originally reported as ZDI-CAN-21661, that permits remote code execution during the parsing of MXF video files. The flaw stems from insufficient validation of user-supplied data, which can produce an integer overflow prior to buffer allocation; successful exploitation grants arbitrary code execution in the context of the GStreamer process. The issue carries a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8 and is classified under CWE-190.

Remote attackers can trigger the vulnerability by supplying a crafted MXF file to any application that uses the affected GStreamer library. No authentication is required and attack complexity is low, although user interaction is needed to open or process the malicious file; the resulting code execution occurs within the privileges of the hosting process.

Official advisories from the GStreamer project and downstream distributions such as Debian provide patched versions that correct the integer handling during MXF parsing; practitioners should apply the updates referenced in GStreamer security advisory SA-2023-0007 and the corresponding Debian LTS announcements.

EPSS for the CVE reached a peak of 0.0744 after disclosure before receding to its current value of 0.0428, indicating a measurable but temporary increase in observed exploitation interest.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

GStreamer MXF File Parsing Integer Overflow Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of GStreamer. Interaction with this library is required to exploit this vulnerability but attack vectors may vary depending…

more

on the implementation. The specific flaw exists within the parsing of MXF video files. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of user-supplied data, which can result in an integer overflow before allocating a buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. . Was ZDI-CAN-21661.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-38104Same product: Gstreamer Gstreamer
CVE-2023-37327Same product: Gstreamer Gstreamer
CVE-2023-40474Same product: Gstreamer Gstreamer
CVE-2026-2921Same product: Gstreamer Gstreamer
CVE-2023-38103Same product: Gstreamer Gstreamer
CVE-2024-47537Same product: Gstreamer Gstreamer
CVE-2024-47834Same product: Gstreamer Gstreamer
CVE-2023-40476Same product: Gstreamer Gstreamer
CVE-2026-3081Same product: Gstreamer Gstreamer
CVE-2023-44446Same product: Gstreamer Gstreamer

Affected Assets

gstreamer
gstreamer
≤ 1.22.6

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V5.2.6

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Developer testing and evaluation (static analysis, fuzzing, unit tests) directly finds integer overflow defects before deployment.

Secure engineering principles require use of safe arithmetic constructs or language features that structurally eliminate integer overflow during calculation.

Input validation enforces bounds on values before arithmetic, stopping the conditions that trigger overflow or wraparound.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly require use of safe arithmetic, bounds checks, and testing that prevent integer overflows.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

finds

Security testing in development can detect integer overflows before release.

prevents

Secure SDLC mandates input validation and arithmetic checks that prevent integer overflows.

degrades

Application security requirements include bounds checking and safe arithmetic to avoid overflow conditions.

degrades

Secure architecture principles require defensive coding patterns that mitigate integer wraparound risks.

prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe integer operations and mandate overflow-safe constructs.

References