Ubuntu security risk due to default VLC 3.0.4 package?

Solution 1:

To install the vlc snap package version 3.0.7 in all currently supported versions of Ubuntu open the terminal and type:

sudo snap install vlc  

VLC is the VideoLAN project's media player. Completely open source and privacy-friendly, it plays every multimedia file and streams. The vlc snap package will be updated automatically in the background when updates are available.

The Linux ecosystem has several methods for opting out of security risks like this one. If there isn't an updated snap package available sometimes it is possible to install an updated version of the same package in a virtual environment, for example with python3-kivy which has a bug in 18.04 using this workaround. Another possible safe alternative is to search for an updated flatpak package of the same application and install the flatpak package in your own home directory as a normal user without root privileges.