Heap buffer overwrite via zero-length underflow
Published Mar 16, 2026 · Updated Mar 16, 2026
Integer underflow in libexif 0.6.25 and earlier allows attackers to overwrite heap memory while decoding crafted MakerNotes. MakerNote get-value handlers for Apple, Canon, Fuji, Olympus, and Pentax accept a zero-length output buffer, decrement its unsigned maximum length to UINT_MAX, and then use that value in string operations. Processing attacker-controlled EXIF metadata is the gate; the overwrite can crash the consuming application or corrupt its process memory.
Summary
What happened
Integer underflow in libexif 0.6.25 and earlier allows attackers to overwrite heap memory while decoding crafted MakerNotes. MakerNote get-value handlers for Apple, Canon, Fuji, Olympus, and Pentax accept a zero-length output buffer, decrement its unsigned maximum length to UINT_MAX, and then use that value in string operations. Processing attacker-controlled EXIF metadata is the gate; the overwrite can crash the consuming application or corrupt its process memory.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-32775
- Published
- Mar 16, 2026
- Updated
- Mar 16, 2026
- Vendor
- libexif Project
- Product
- libexif
- Classifications
- CWE-191, T1203
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Mar 16, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Mar 16, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=0 <=0.6.25
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- Crafted MakerNote proof of conceptproof of concept · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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