# CVE-2026-125252: FFmpeg memory leak in VAAPI decode

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-125252-ffmpeg-through-9-0-2-contains-a-memory-leak-vulnerability-in  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-11-09. Updated: 2026-11-09  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-125252 · Severity: medium · CVSS 4.7 · Published 2026-11-09

FFmpeg is a widely-used multimedia framework that decodes and processes video files and streams. A memory leak in the VAAPI hardware video decoder allows an attacker to craft malicious video files that continuously leak memory, potentially exhausting system resources and causing denial of service or crashes in applications using FFmpeg to play video.

Technologies: [Ffmpeg](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/ffmpeg). Vendors: [Ffmpeg](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/ffmpeg).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-125252 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-125252 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-125252?** Medium severity, with a CVSS score of 4.7, published 9 November 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** Ffmpeg through 9.0.2.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-125252?** Yes: fixed in FFmpeg 9.1. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

**How is CVE-2026-125252 attacked?** It is attacked over the network, in a software library.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-125252?** Check whether you run Ffmpeg at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## How to fix

- Fixed in FFmpeg 9.1

## Technical details

The vulnerability is a memory leak in libavcodec/vaapi_decode.c where VA parameter and slice buffers, along with driver and heap memory, are not properly freed when video slices fail to parse. An attacker can supply H.264 or other VAAPI-decoded video streams with intentional slice parse errors on every frame to trigger continuous memory exhaustion. This requires processing malicious video input but no authentication or user interaction beyond playing the file.

## Affected products

- FFmpeg FFmpeg through 9.0.2

## Timeline

- 2026-11-09: disclosed
- 2026-10-27: patched: Fixes merged in PR #25231

## References

- [https://code.ffmpeg.org/FFmpeg/FFmpeg/pulls/25231](https://code.ffmpeg.org/FFmpeg/FFmpeg/pulls/25231)
- [https://github.com/FFmpeg/FFmpeg](https://github.com/FFmpeg/FFmpeg)

## Related threats

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- [FFmpeg double free in H.264 SEI message handling](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-125269-ffmpeg-through-9-0-2-contains-a-double-free-vulnerability-in)
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- [FFmpeg use-after-free in NVIDIA codec decoding](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-125265-ffmpeg-through-9-0-2-contains-a-use-after-free-vulnerability-in)
- [FFmpeg JPEG XL parser uncontrolled resource consumption](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-125264-ffmpeg-through-9-0-2-contains-an-uncontrolled-resource)