dbcve.org
Information ExposureWeakness · CWE-200

CVE-2026-32814

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-19
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
72/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges

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 · unedited
libheif is a HEIF and AVIF file format decoder and encoder. In versions 1.21.2 and prior, when decoding a HEIF grid image with strict_decoding=false (the default), a corrupted tile silently fails to decode and the library returns heif_error_Ok with no indication of failure, leading to an uninitialized heap memory information leak. The canvas is allocated via create_clone_image_at_new_size() → plane.alloc() → new (std::nothrow) uint8_t[allocation_size] which does not zero the memory; only the alpha plane is explicitly initialized via fill_plane(), so the Y, Cb, and Cr planes contain whatever was previously at that heap address. The failed tile's region of the canvas is never written. It retains uninitialized heap data that is delivered to the caller as decoded pixel values (4,096 bytes per Y/Cb/Cr plane = 12,288+ bytes total). Any application using libheif to decode grid-based HEIF/AVIF files with default settings is vulnerable: a crafted .heic or .avif file causes 4,096+ bytes of heap memory to appear as pixel values in the decoded image, and the calling application receives heif_error_Ok, so it has no indication the output contains heap garbage. In server-side image processing, an uploaded crafted HEIF decoded and re-encoded (e.g., as PNG/JPEG for thumbnails, CDN, social media) can leak cross-user data such as auth tokens, database results, and other users' image data. This issue has been fixed in version 1.22.0.

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 · high confidence

libheif versions 1.21.2 and prior contain an information disclosure vulnerability in HEIF grid image decoding. When a corrupted tile fails to decode with strict_decoding=false (the default), the library returns heif_error_Ok while the Y, Cb, and Cr planes retain uninitialized heap memory from the allocation, exposing 4,096+ bytes of heap data as pixel values.

MitigationUpgrade libheif to version 1.22.0 or later, which addresses this vulnerability by properly handling decoding failures.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

CVSS 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
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the installed libheif version
    Run 'heif --version' from the command line, or inspect the shared library file (libheif.so or libheif.dylib) using 'strings libheif.so | grep -E "^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$"' or check the library metadata with your system's package manager (e.g., 'dpkg -l libheif' or 'brew list libheif')
    Affected if The reported version is 1.21.2 or any earlier version (e.g., 1.21.1, 1.21.0, 1.20.0, etc.)
  2. Confirm strict_decoding is disabled
    Search the application source code or configuration for calls to heif_context_read_from_file or heif_decoder where strict_decoding is not explicitly set to true; the default value is false
    Affected if The code does not set strict_decoding to true when calling the heif decoder API, which is the default behavior in unpatched versions
  3. Determine if the application processes HEIF or AVIF files
    Review the application to identify if it accepts, loads, or decodes .heic or .avif files from any input source, including user uploads, network streams, or file attachments
    Affected if The application processes HEIF or AVIF files at all (the flaw triggers on any corrupted grid tile when strict_decoding=false)
  4. Verify input source trust level
    Check whether the application processes HEIF/AVIF files from untrusted or unauthenticated sources such as user-uploaded content, external URLs, or data from network clients
    Affected if The application processes HEIF/AVIF files from untrusted sources without prior validation, as the advisory explicitly links this to exploitation

You are affected if your installed libheif is version 1.21.2 or prior AND your application uses the default strict_decoding=false setting to decode HEIF or AVIF files, particularly from untrusted sources.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade libheif to version 1.22.0 or later, which addresses this vulnerability by properly handling decoding failures.

Recommended fix High confidence

libheif version 1.22.0 or later

  1. Check current libheif version using: dpkg -l | grep libheif, rpm -qa | grep libheif, or pkg-config --modversion libheif
  2. Download libheif version 1.22.0 or later from the official GitHub releases: https://github.com/strukturag/libheif/releases
  3. Extract the source tarball and navigate to the directory
  4. Configure the build: ./autogen.sh followed by ./configure
  5. Build and install: make && sudo make install
  6. Update the library cache: sudo ldconfig
  7. Verify the installed version matches or exceeds 1.22.0
  8. Rebuild any applications that link against libheif to ensure they use the new library version
Caveat Minimal risk - this is a bugfix release addressing a security vulnerability with no intentional API/ABI changes; however, rebuild applications to ensure they link against the fixed library

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,190
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-32814 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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