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CVE-2018-11529· NVD / CVE Program· CNA mitre

VideoLAN VLC media player 2.2.x is prone to a use after free vulnerability which an attacker can leverage to execute arbitrary code via craf

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Plan (action score 43/100)

  • A ready-made attack module is public (Metasploit); exploiting it takes no special expertise.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 36.9% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 98.4% of all records.
  • Someone on the same network segment can trigger it. No account or password is required. A user must open a link or visit a page. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • Fixed version: vlc (Debian:12) 3.0.3-1-1; vlc (Debian:9) 3.0.3-1-0+deb9u1.

Add it to your regular patch cycle. Upgrade to vlc (Debian:12) 3.0.3-1-1; vlc (Debian:9) 3.0.3-1-0+deb9u1 or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

VideoLAN VLC media player 2.2.x is prone to a use after free vulnerability which an attacker can leverage to execute arbitrary code via crafted MKV files. Failed exploit attempts will likely result in denial of service conditions.

HighCVSS 8.0 · v3.0—Weaponized Fix available
Published
Jul 11, 2018
Updated
Jun 16, 2026
EPSS
37.0% · 98th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

43

Plan

Add it to your regular patch cycle.

CVSS
32 / 40 · 8.0 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
11 / 30 · 37.0%

Get told when this record changes

  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • Weaponized exploit exists
  • A fix has been released

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

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When you'll hear from us

  • when it enters CISA KEV
  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

VendorProduct
videolanvlc media player
debiandebian linux

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • debian debian linux9.0
  • videolan vlc media playerup to 2.2.8 inclusive

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Debian:12vlcbefore 3.0.3-1-13.0.3-1-1
Debian:9vlcbefore 3.0.3-1-0+deb9u13.0.3-1-0+deb9u1

Same product

videolan: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2010-3275libdirectx_plugin.dll in VideoLAN VLC Media Player before 1.1.8 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted width in an
    60This week
  • CVE-2008-4654Stack-based buffer overflow in the parse_master function in the Ty demux plugin (modules/demux/ty.c) in VLC Media Player 0.9.0 through 0.9.4
    54Plan
  • CVE-2012-1775Stack-based buffer overflow in VideoLAN VLC media player before 2.0.1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted MMS://
    50Plan
  • CVE-2011-0531demux/mkv/mkv.hpp in the MKV demuxer plugin in VideoLAN VLC media player 1.1.6.1 and earlier allows remote attackers to cause a denial of se
    50Plan
  • CVE-2008-5036Stack-based buffer overflow in VideoLAN VLC media player 0.9.x before 0.9.6 might allow user-assisted attackers to execute arbitrary code vi
    49Plan
  • CVE-2009-2484Stack-based buffer overflow in the Win32AddConnection function in modules/access/smb.c in VideoLAN VLC media player 0.9.9, when running on M
    48Plan

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
debian:vlc3.0.3-1-1 · Debian:12Package registry (OSV)

Exploit status

Weaponized

A ready exploit tool or active in-the-wild use is known for this vulnerability. This should be your top priority.

Evidence

  • Metasploit module ×1
  • Exploit-DB entry ×2

Noroxi does not host or link to exploit code. Metasploit module names and Nuclei template ids are shown (names, not code); Exploit-DB entries and PoC repositories are given as counts only.

Public exploit evidence
SourceKindDate
Metasploit moduleexploit/windows/fileformat/vlc_mkvVLC Media Player MKV Use After Freeexploit2018-05-24
Exploit-DB entrylocal2018-10-16
Exploit-DB entrylocal2018-10-16

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

  1. Metasploit-49 d
  2. Published
  3. First PoC+96 d
  4. TodayOct 15, 2026+3018 d
EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Someone on the same network segment can trigger it.
  • No account or password is required.
  • A user must open a link or visit a page.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
high · data can be read
Integrity
high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Adjacent
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
High
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-416 · Use After Free

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.0/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

nvd-primary

Root cause

After a memory region is freed, another reference pointing to it is still used. By then, the same region may have been allocated for different data.

The bug in code

The whole CWE-416 class

A representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.

Vulnerable

c
free(dev->buf);/* ... another thread is still running ... */process(dev->buf);

Fixed

c
lock(&dev->lock);free(dev->buf);dev->buf = NULL;unlock(&dev->lock);

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.

Change log

  1. Fix✗ → ✓

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

Show all references (1 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records