CVE-2018-14073
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedlibsixel 1.8.1 has a memory leak in sixel_allocator_new in allocator.c.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidencelibsixel 1.8.1 contains a memory leak in the sixel_allocator_new function within allocator.c. The function fails to properly free allocated memory, leading to resource exhaustion over time.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= 1.8.1CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify libsixel installationRun 'pkg-config --modversion libsixel' or check for libsixel libraries in /usr/lib/ or via package manager (dpkg -l, rpm -qa)Affected if libsixel version equals 1.8.1 exactly
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Locate allocator.c source fileFind allocator.c in the libsixel source tree and check the version string or git commit that corresponds to the 1.8.1 releaseAffected if The source file is from libsixel 1.8.1 and contains the sixel_allocator_new function
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Verify sixel_allocator_new is calledInspect application code or runtime behavior that uses libsixel to confirm sixel_allocator_new is invoked (check for calls to this function in logs or via dynamic analysis with tools like ltrace/strace)Affected if Any application or tool exercises the sixel_allocator_new function path while using libsixel 1.8.1
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Monitor for memory growthRun a process that repeatedly uses libsixel encoding/decoding functions and observe memory consumption over time using tools like top, htop, or /proc/[pid]/statusAffected if Memory usage continuously increases without stabilization during libsixel operations, indicating the leak is active
A system is affected if libsixel version 1.8.1 is installed AND any code path invokes the sixel_allocator_new function, causing unbounded memory growth during operation.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataIdentify and properly release the un-freed memory allocation within sixel_allocator_new. Update to a patched version if available, or apply a fix that ensures all allocations have corresponding deallocation paths.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-14073 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-14073 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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