libheif: unbounded heap allocation in HEIF sequence parser (stsz fixed-size mode missing bound check) (CVE-2026-50142) | HOL Guard CVE

Unknown severity · Source severity not reportedCVE-2026-50142

libheif: unbounded heap allocation in HEIF sequence parser (stsz fixed-size mode missing bound check)

Answer in brief

CVE-2026-50142 records a Unknown severity vulnerability in libheif: unbounded heap allocation in HEIF sequence parser (stsz fixed-size mode missing bound check). The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. The current feed maps strukturag/libheif (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.

Analysis pending evidence review

HOL Guard separates source facts from reviewed analysis. See the methodology.

Published Aug 18, 2026Updated Aug 19, 2026Source checked Aug 20, 2026First seen by HOL Aug 18, 2026Material review Aug 19, 2026

Upstream Advisory

Key facts

Risk: Unknown severitySource severity not reported
Exploitation: Not marked as known exploited
Affected software: 1 mapped package or product
Fix availability: Not reported

Why this deserves its current priority

A CVSS score is not reported in the current record. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. Treat this as a source-backed prioritization signal, not a statement about your environment.

Analysis status

Analysis pending evidence review

Factual feed record only; HOL analysis is not approved for indexing. Read the methodology.

Affected scope and exposure questions

The current feed maps strukturag/libheif (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.

Mapped affected packages and fixed versions
Package	Affected range	Fixed version
strukturag/libheifgeneric	>= 1.19.0, < 1.23.0	Not reported

Recommended response

Check inventory. Check lockfiles and deployed manifests for strukturag/libheif.
Review the reported fix. Monitor this advisory for an available fix and review any installs of the affected package.

Evidence timeline and material changes

Published upstream
Aug 18, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:record
Source modified
Aug 19, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:record
First seen by HOL
Aug 18, 2026

Sources and claim methodology

Upstream source description

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.

Quoted source text, attributed separately from HOL analysis.