---
id: "CVE-2026-125104"
page: "https://infrastack.ai/live/CVE-2026-125104"
kind: "vulnerability"
aliases: ["CVE-2026-125104"]
title: "FFmpeg: crafted legacy APE audio file exhausts memory, denial of service"
severity: "medium"
cvss: 6.8
epss: null
exploited: false
status: "open"
category: "runtime"
products: [{"name": "FFmpeg", "fixed": [], "affected": "", "ecosystem": "vendor"}]
ecosystems: ["vendor"]
tags: ["ffmpeg", "media-processing", "runtime", "transcoding"]
not_affected_if: ["no-ape-decoding", "no-untrusted-audio"]
published_at: "2026-11-09T19:16:51+00:00"
first_seen_at: "2026-11-09T19:28:16+00:00"
updated_at: "2026-11-09T19:31:39+00:00"
sources: [{"source": "nvd", "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-125104", "first_seen_at": "2026-11-09T19:28:16+00:00"}]
exploit_sources: []
---

# FFmpeg: crafted legacy APE audio file exhausts memory, denial of service

Link for people: https://infrastack.ai/live/CVE-2026-125104 (this .md is for agents)

FFmpeg's APE (Monkey's Audio) decoder fails to enforce the 73728-sample limit for legacy APE frames. A crafted file declaring a huge block count forces gigabyte-scale allocations and crashes the process.

_Summary, check and fix written by a model from the sources; labelled as such._

## Affected

- vendor:FFmpeg affected range not listed fixed no fixed version listed

## How to check

- Run `ffmpeg -version` and compare against the fixed release in the sources.
- Check whether your pipeline decodes untrusted APE files (Monkey's Audio), since that is the only trigger path described.

## Timeline

- 2026-11-09T19:28:16+00:00 nvd https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-125104

## Documents

- [advisory] Third-party advisory: www.vulncheck.com https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/ffmpeg-through-9.0.2-memory-exhaustion-dos-via-ape-decoder-apedec-c
- [fix] Patch: github.com https://github.com/FFmpeg/FFmpeg/commit/968e9e948ed8c9ba90dbc875e60b843c755cf4ba

## From the sources

FFmpeg through 9.0.2 contains a memory exhaustion vulnerability in ape_decode_frame() in libavcodec/apedec.c that fails to enforce the 73728-sample limit for legacy APE frames. Attackers can supply a crafted legacy Monkey's Audio file declaring an enormous nblocks value to force gigabyte-scale allocations and cause denial of service.

---

_Free to read, with fair use of about 60 pages a minute. For higher limits or API access: sales@infrastack.ai_