Upstream information
Description
libsixel is a SIXEL encoder/decoder implementation derived from kmiya's sixel. In versions 1.8.7 and prior, when built with the --with-gdk-pixbuf2 option, a use-after-free vulnerability exists in load_with_gdkpixbuf() in loader.c. The cleanup path manually frees the sixel_frame_t object and its internal buffers without consulting the reference count, even though the object was created via the refcounted constructor sixel_frame_new() and exposed to the public callback. A callback that calls sixel_frame_ref(frame) to retain a logically valid reference will hold a dangling pointer after sixel_helper_load_image_file() returns, and any subsequent access to the frame or its fields triggers a use-after-free confirmed by AddressSanitizer. The root cause is a consistency failure between two cleanup strategies in the same codebase: sixel_frame_unref() is used in load_with_builtin() but raw free() is used in load_with_gdkpixbuf(). An attacker supplying a crafted image to any application built against libsixel with gdk-pixbuf2 support can trigger this reliably, potentially leading to information disclosure, memory corruption, or code execution. This issue has been fixed in version 1.8.7-r1.SUSE information
Overall state of this security issue: Does not affect SUSE products
This issue is currently rated as having important severity.
| CVSS detail | CNA (GitHub) | SUSE |
|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 7.8 | 7.8 |
| Vector | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| Attack Vector | Local | Local |
| Attack Complexity | Low | Low |
| Privileges Required | None | None |
| User Interaction | Required | Required |
| Scope | Unchanged | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality Impact | High | High |
| Integrity Impact | High | High |
| Availability Impact | High | High |
| CVSSv3 Version | 3.1 | 3.1 |
SUSE Timeline for this CVE
CVE page created: Wed Apr 15 02:01:13 2026CVE page last modified: Wed Apr 15 20:51:05 2026