CVE-2026-52721
Description
Multiple out-of-bounds read vulnerabilities were found in GStreamer's pcapparse element. Malformed PCAP records can trigger reads beyond buffer boundaries during IPv4/TCP header parsing. This element is primarily used in debugging pipelines, limiting real-world exposure. A local attacker could trick a user into processing a specially crafted PCAP file, potentially leading to a crash or information disclosure.
Statement
This is a Moderate out-of-bounds read vulnerability in the GStreamer pcapparse element (gst-plugins-bad). The flaw allows reads beyond buffer boundaries when processing malformed PCAP records due to missing bounds validation on IPv4/TCP header fields and untrusted IP packet length values. The impact is limited because the pcapparse element is primarily used in debugging pipelines, not in standard media playback workflows. The upstream maintainer confirmed this can only be triggered in specially crafted GStreamer pipelines built for debugging purposes, making real-world exploitation very unlikely. Red Hat products utilizing GStreamer for multimedia processing are affected only if they use the pcapparse element in custom debugging pipelines.
Mitigation
Red Hat is not aware of a practical temporary workaround that fully mitigates this issue or meets Red Hat Product Security's standards for usability, deployment, applicability, or stability.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 5.3 | N/A | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Local | N/A | N/A |
| Attack Complexity | High | N/A | N/A |
| Privileges Required | None | N/A | N/A |
| User Interaction | Required | N/A | N/A |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | N/A |
| Confidentiality | Low | N/A | N/A |
| Integrity Impact | None | N/A | N/A |
| Availability Impact | High | N/A | N/A |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Confidentiality
Technical Impact: Read Memory
An attacker could get secret values such as cryptographic keys, PII, memory addresses, or other information that could be used in additional attacks.
Confidentiality
Technical Impact: Bypass Protection Mechanism
Out-of-bounds memory could contain memory addresses or other information that can be used to bypass ASLR and other protection mechanisms in order to improve the reliability of exploiting a separate weakness for code execution.
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart
An attacker could cause a segmentation fault or crash by causing memory to be read outside of the bounds of the buffer. This is especially likely when the code reads a variable amount of data and assumes that a sentinel exists to stop the read operation, such as a NUL in a string.
Other
Technical Impact: Varies by Context
The read operation could produce other undefined or unexpected results.
Acknowledgements
Red Hat would like to thank JUNYI LIU for reporting this issue.
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