CVE-2026-44636

libsixel: integer overflow in encoder

HIGH
7.8
CVSS Score
Published: May 14, 2026 at 08:01 PM UTC
Updated: October 26, 2026 at 02:10 PM UTC
1 product affected across 1 vendorLibsixel

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Severity
HIGH7.8
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.1%
SSVC
PoC

Description

libsixel is a SIXEL encoder/decoder implementation derived from kmiya's sixel. From to 1.8.7-r1, signed integer overflow in sixel_encode_highcolor's allocation size calculation can lead to a heap buffer overflow. The public sixel_encode entry point validates only that width and height are greater than zero, with no upper bound. width and height are multiplied as plain int when computing the allocation size for paletted_pixels and normalized_pixels. Any caller that asks libsixel to encode a pixel buffer with width times height greater than INT_MAX (about 2.15 billion) will hit a wrapped allocation size; under the right wrap, the malloc succeeds with a buffer much smaller than the encoder expects, and the encoder writes past the end of the heap allocation. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.8.7-r2.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

1.4.4 ≤ v < 1.8.7-r2
Affected range stops below 1.8.7-r2, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet. What the record does show:

References (1)

x_refsource_CONFIRMVendor Advisory
Source: cverecord
https://github.com/saitoha/libsixel/security/advisories/GHSA-hx93-w8p2-ffh5

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCPoCNot automatableTotal impact

SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.

CVSS

Attack Vector
LOCAL
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
LOW
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
HIGH
Integrity
HIGH
Availability
HIGH
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusMODIFIED
CWE
CWE-122CWE-190

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