CVE-2020-22038Network attack vector

Service interruption via failed V4L2 initialization cleanup

Published Jun 1, 2021 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Memory exhaustion in FFmpeg 4.2 allows attackers to interrupt service via failed V4L2 encoder or decoder initialization. The V4L2 mem2mem codec path did not arrange for close() after initialization errors, leaving the context packet and other resources allocated. A user or consuming application must invoke the V4L2 mem2mem codec and encounter repeated initialization failures, which exhaust memory and can crash the process.

CVSS severity6.5
Medium
EPSS probability1.01%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Memory exhaustion in FFmpeg 4.2 allows attackers to interrupt service via failed V4L2 encoder or decoder initialization. The V4L2 mem2mem codec path did not arrange for close() after initialization errors, leaving the context packet and other resources allocated. A user or consuming application must invoke the V4L2 mem2mem codec and encounter repeated initialization failures, which exhaust memory and can crash the process.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-22038
Published
Jun 1, 2021
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-401
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jun 1, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 4, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

4.3NIST NVDAV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P
6.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
6.5Canonical UbuntuCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-401Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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