CVE-2026-33020
HIGHDescription
libsixel is a SIXEL encoder/decoder implementation derived from kmiya's sixel. Versions 1.8.7 and prior contain an integer overflow which leads to a heap buffer overflow via sixel_frame_convert_to_rgb888() in frame.c, where allocation size and pointer offset computations for palettised images (PAL1, PAL2, PAL4) are performed using int arithmetic before casting to size_t. For images whose pixel count exceeds INT_MAX / 4, the overflow produces an undersized heap allocation for the conversion buffer and a negative pointer offset for the normalization sub-buffer, after which sixel_helper_normalize_pixelformat() writes the full image data starting from the invalid pointer, causing massive heap corruption confirmed by ASAN. An attacker providing a specially crafted large palettised PNG can corrupt the heap of the victim process, resulting in a reliable crash and potential arbitrary code execution. This issue has been fixed in version 1.8.7-r1.
How to fix
Remediation is compiled from vendor and distribution security advisories. Always confirm against the linked source for your exact version and platform.
CVSS v3 Vector
Exploitability
Impact
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
Exploit Intelligence
Low risk: more likely to be exploited than 11% of all known CVEs.
References
Related Vulnerabilities
Other CWE-122 (Heap-based Buffer Overflow) vulnerabilities, ordered by exploit likelihood. View all
| CVE | Severity | CVSS | EPSS | Exploited | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2015-3113 | Critical | 9.8 | 100% | KEV | Fix |
| CVE-2024-26256 | High | 7.8 | 88% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2020-25687 | Medium | 5.9 | 87% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2009-3459 | High | 8.8 | 86% | KEV | Fix |
| CVE-2021-21017 | High | 8.8 | 86% | KEV | - |
| CVE-2020-25683 | Medium | 5.9 | 86% | - | Fix |
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Markdown
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Start freeThis product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2026-04-23.