CVE-2026-66038
MEDIUMDescription
FFmpeg through 8.1.2, fixed in commit 8670835, contains an information disclosure vulnerability in the LCL/ZLIB video decoder that allows attackers to expose uninitialized heap memory by supplying a valid zlib stream that inflates to fewer bytes than the expected frame size. The zlib_decomp() function in lcldec.c treats short decompression as non-fatal and continues to the RGB24 conversion path, which copies a full frame's worth of rows from the allocation buffer using original frame dimensions, causing uninitialized heap contents including pointer-derived allocator bytes to be copied into the attacker-observable AVFrame output and potentially defeating ASLR in long-lived media processing services.
How to fix
This vulnerability affects an unusually large number of packages. The highest-confidence fixes are shown above; the full list is longer. Check the referenced advisories for complete coverage.
TridentStack Control can deploy fixes like this automatically across your Windows, macOS, and Linux fleet. See how it works
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:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Exploit Intelligence
Low risk: more likely to be exploited than 15% of all known CVEs.
References
Related Vulnerabilities
Other CWE-908 vulnerabilities, ordered by exploit likelihood. View all
| CVE | Severity | CVSS | EPSS | Exploited | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2025-5777 | High | 7.5 | 100% | KEV + Ransom | Fix |
| CVE-2023-24941 | Critical | 9.8 | 95% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2007-1751 | High | 9.3 | 61% | - | - |
| CVE-2008-0081 | Critical | 9.8 | 58% | - | - |
| CVE-2020-1934 | Medium | 5.3 | 52% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2011-1255 | High | 9.3 | 42% | - | - |
Common questions
How do I fix CVE-2026-66038?
Published advisories record a fix for 58 affected products. The "How to fix" section on this page lists the fixed version and source advisory for each one, so apply the entry matching what you actually run.
Is CVE-2026-66038 being actively exploited?
Not that we know of. CVE-2026-66038 is not in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Its EPSS score of 0.24% is the estimated probability that it will be exploited in the next 30 days. That is higher than 15% of all scored CVEs.
How severe is CVE-2026-66038?
CVE-2026-66038 has a CVSS v3 base score of 6.5, rated medium. CVSS rates the technical impact if the vulnerability is exploited, not how likely that is, so weigh it alongside the exploit-prediction score when you decide what to patch first.
What does CVE-2026-66038 affect?
Published advisories record a fix for ffmpeg (Ubuntu), libav-tools (Ubuntu), libavcodec-dev (Ubuntu), libavcodec-extra (Ubuntu), and 54 more. Only products with a sourced advisory are listed, so treat this as what we can cite rather than a complete inventory.
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This 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 2026-08-07.