CVE-2026-50142
libheif: unbounded heap allocation in HEIF sequence parser (stsz fixed-size mode missing bound check)
No known exploitation. EPSS puts it in the 49th percentile. No fix published yet.
What to do
No fixed build or workaround is published yet. Limit exposure and watch for a patch.
What it is
From the CVE record
libheif is a HEIF and AVIF file format decoder and encoder. From 1.19.0 until 1.23.0, a crafted HEIF sequence accepted by heif_context_read_from_memory() with the msf1 sequence brand can cause unbounded heap allocation. In libheif/sequences/seq_boxes.cc, Box_stsz::parse() applies max_sequence_frames only to variable-size samples, so fixed-size mode accepts an attacker-controlled sample_count without a bound. In libheif/sequences/track.cc, Track::load() also adds current_sample_idx and samples_per_chunk in 32-bit arithmetic, allowing the consistency check to be bypassed by wraparound. The resulting values reach the Chunk::Chunk() allocation path, which can consume gigabytes of memory and crash or stall the process through memory exhaustion. This issue is fixed in version 1.23.0.
In plain language
No plain-language summary for this CVE yet.
Exploitation
Where each signal puts this CVE on the scale from published to confirmed exploited.
- CISA KEV
Not in the catalog. CISA has not confirmed exploitation.
- Public exploits
No public exploit or proof of concept found in the sources we track.
- EPSS
0.7% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, which ranks it in the 49th percentile of scored CVEs.
Exploit Prediction Scoring System, FIRST.org. A probability, not a confirmation.
Lifecycle
7 events over 76 days, from the signal feeds we watch.
- Record updated
- Record updated
- Publishedweakness classified, att&ck mapped, record updated
- OpenVAS check added
Affected products
Technical detail
CVSS 3.1 vector
Open in the CVSS calculatorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Scored 7.5 by NVD.
How it is reached
- Attack Vector NetworkExploitable remotely over the network without any special conditions
- Attack Complexity LowNo special conditions — the attack can be reliably reproduced
- Privileges Required NoneNo authentication required — anyone can exploit this
- User Interaction NoneNo user interaction needed — fully automated exploitation
Scope
- Scope UnchangedImpact is limited to the vulnerable component itself
Impact if exploited
- Confidentiality NoneNo confidentiality impact
- Integrity NoneNo integrity impact
- Availability HighTotal denial of service — the component is completely unavailable
Weaknesses
ATT&CK techniques
Mapped from the weaknesses above (CWE to ATT&CK), not observed in attacks.
Sources
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