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Fencer Intel
high 7.8

CVE-2026-33023 json

libsixel: Use-after-free in load_with_gdkpixbuf()

published 6mo ago modified 3mo ago also EUVD-2026-22748

cvss
7.8
version 3.1, CNA
cisa kev
Not listed
not in CISA's catalog
epss
0.3%
EPSS 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 21%
public exploits
0
none known

Summary

libsixel is a SIXEL encoder/decoder implementation derived from kmiya's sixel. In versions 1.8.7 and prior, when built with the --with-gdk-pixbuf2 option, a use-after-free vulnerability exists in load_with_gdkpixbuf() in loader.c. The cleanup path manually frees the sixel_frame_t object and its internal buffers without consulting the reference count, even though the object was created via the refcounted constructor sixel_frame_new() and exposed to the public callback. A callback that calls sixel_frame_ref(frame) to retain a logically valid reference will hold a dangling pointer after sixel_helper_load_image_file() returns, and any subsequent access to the frame or its fields triggers a use-after-free confirmed by AddressSanitizer. The root cause is a consistency failure between two cleanup strategies in the same codebase: sixel_frame_unref() is used in load_with_builtin() but raw free() is used in load_with_gdkpixbuf(). An attacker supplying a crafted image to any application built against libsixel with gdk-pixbuf2 support can trigger this reliably, potentially leading to information disclosure, memory corruption, or code execution. This issue has been fixed in version 1.8.7-r1.

Patch / fix

  • libsixel_project libsixel 1.8.7-r1
  • saitoha libsixel 1.8.7-r1
  • libsixel Debian 14 1:1.8.7-r2-1

debian advisories DEBIAN-CVE-2026-33023

  • libsixel openSUSE Tumbleweed 1.10.5-3.1

opensuse advisories openSUSE-SU-2026:12420-1

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Vendor advisories

What the vendors themselves say about their products: affected, fixed or not affected, and what to do.

red hat product security vex CVE-2026-33023 updated cvss 7.8

libsixel: libsixel: Code execution via crafted image due to use-after-free vulnerability

  • Red Hat All currently supported Red Hat products
    not affected: vulnerable code not present

Red Hat CSAF VEX © Red Hat, Inc., from https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/; changed: reduced to product statuses and remediations. CC BY 4.0 · csaf

CISA SSVC

Exploitation
Proof of concept is public
Automatable
no
Technical impact
total
Assessed
6mo ago

Exploit prediction

0.29% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 21% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-09).

Exploits and checks

  • github.com https://github.com/saitoha/libsixel/security/advisories/GHSA-hr25-g2j6-qjw6 referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified

CVSS scores

assigned by version score vector
CNA 3.1 7.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected products

  • saitoha libsixel

Classification

Weakness

References

Sources

Fencer Intel keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.

CPEs and fixed versions use Anchore's correction of NVD's data: Added CPE configurations because not yet analyzed by NVD.