Critical Security Update

[Janez_Makovsek1]

Dear all,

is there some way to install the latest security upgrade without upgrading Wowza? We cant upgrade Wowza from v4.5 because newer versions to a great extend break the functionality. (and the Wowza server is no longer usable).

Thanks!
Atmapuri

[Andrew_Ramberg]

Hello,

We do suggest that you apply the update but if you cannot currently due to customization, then applying the following changes would be recommended in the meantime.

Secure Vulnerable JMX Access Configuration for Wowza Server Software

Secure Vulnerable StreamManager HTTP Provider for Wowza Server Software

For more information please see the following page:
Critical Update Information

Best regards,

Andrew

[Janez_Makovsek1]

Thanks Andrew, that is helpfull. BTW, we cant upgrade because Transcoder CPU usage jumps by factor of 3x or so… after upgrade.

[Andrew_Ramberg]

Hi Janez,

Such a high jump is strange.

If you’re using the default implementation, there was an update around 4.6.0 (.02?) that included upgrades to the MainConcept libraries. This included the ability to adjust the transcoder performance but some users noticed an increase in the CPU utilization due to a higher default value.

You can expose the advanced properties allowed using the logVideoEncodingParameters and looking at the log output as shown in the following article:

How to control transcoded video with video encoding parameters

You can set the transcoder performance level using the following parameter using the info in the the article:

long: performance_level: (0-15) 0=H264_PERF_FASTEST, 9:H264_PERF_BALANCED, 15=H264_PERF_BEST_Q

We’d suggest adjusting to something lower than 9 to see if this brings the CPU back to an equivalent level.

I don’t know if this is your issue though as 3x the utilization is a much higher jump than other users had reported.

If you’re using NVIDIA GPU acceleration, then an NVIDIA driver update at the same time would also be recommended.

Feel free to open a ticket on this when you’re ready to dig into it further.

Best regards,

Andrew

[Janez_Makovsek1]

Dear Andrew, your answers are most helpfull by far from anything we could get this year. We did file support ticket some months ago, but it was closed as “cant reproduce”. The CPU usage problem with the transcoder started with 4.5.0.3 or something like this. It was before 4.6, that much is sure. We dont use Nvidia. It is CPU only (2x E5 2620 v3)

There is another big issue. All our streams are HLS and use https all the time. However, when the web page (running on Apache) which is hosting the “Flowplayer” that is serving the HLS streams is switched to https, then Wowza service CPU usage per viewer is about 2x more. (and again we cant switch our web to be fully https, because 12 core machine is maxed out.) Are there any new developments on this issue? (It really makes my head spin just to think about how something like this is possible )

[Andrew_Ramberg]

Hello Janez,

Sorry to hear it couldn’t be reproduced, sometimes this isn’t possible outside of a users’ workflow. Sounds like it might be a different issue if you’ve seen this prior to 4.6.0.02.

The rise in CPU usage when enabling SSL is something that’s reported commonly. Some of the highest security ciphers are very CPU intensive. You can tweak which Protocols and Cipher Suites are supported by using the instructions in the Improving SSL Configuration Article. By excluding the higher Cipher Suites, this will reduce your CPU load but of course, the trade-off being less secure SSL connections.

Best regards,
Andrew