dbcve.org
Memory Buffer Bounds ErrorWeakness · CWE-119

CVE-2026-6491

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-04-17
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
55/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click

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
A security vulnerability has been detected in libvips up to 8.18.2. The affected element is the function im_minpos_vec of the file libvips/deprecated/vips7compat.c of the component nip2 Handler. Such manipulation of the argument n leads to heap-based buffer overflow. An attack has to be approached locally. The exploit has been disclosed publicly and may be used. The vendor confirms that they will "be removing the deprecated area in libvips 8.19".

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

Heap-based buffer overflow in the deprecated im_minpos_vec function in libvips/deprecated/vips7compat.c (nip2 Handler component). The vulnerability is triggered by manipulating the n argument, leading to overflow of a heap-allocated buffer.

MitigationUpgrade to libvips 8.19 or later where the deprecated area has been removed; alternatively, avoid use of the nip2 Handler component until the upgrade is feasible.

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
Low

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

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 installed libvips version
    Run `pkg-config --modversion vips` or `vips --version` to get the installed libvips version number
    Affected if Version is lower than 8.19 or the version cannot be determined (deprecated code may still be present)
  2. Locate the deprecated vips7compat module
    Check for the presence of libvips/deprecated/vips7compat.c or the compiled vips7compat module in the installation directory
    Affected if The deprecated compatibility module exists in the installation
  3. Determine if nip2 Handler is in use
    Inspect running processes or configuration for nip2 (the legacy image processing handler) or check if VIPS_LEGACY or VIPS7 compatibility mode is enabled in the environment
    Affected if nip2 Handler component or legacy VIPS7 compatibility mode is active
  4. Check for the im_minpos_vec function usage
    Search application code or loaded libraries for calls to im_minpos_vec function in the deprecated compatibility layer
    Affected if Code directly or indirectly invokes the im_minpos_vec function from the deprecated module

A user is affected if libvips version is below 8.19 AND the nip2 Handler or legacy VIPS7 compatibility layer is enabled, allowing the deprecated im_minpos_vec function to be called with a manipulated n argument.

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 to libvips 8.19 or later where the deprecated area has been removed; alternatively, avoid use of the nip2 Handler component until the upgrade is feasible.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

libvips 8.19 or later

  1. Upgrade libvips to version 8.19 or later where the deprecated vips7compat.c component has been removed
Caveat The nip2 handler and related deprecated functions in vips7compat.c are being removed entirely, which may break compatibility with older nip2 code

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,640
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,224.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-6491 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2026-6491 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data