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NVD / CVE Program· CNA GitHub_M

CVE-2020-26208: Heap-buffer-overflow in jhead

MediumCVSS 6.1 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 24/100)

  • The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.89% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 59.7% of all records.
  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it. No account or password is required. A user must open a link or visit a page. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • Fixed version: jhead (Debian:12) 1:3.04-6.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to jhead (Debian:12) 1:3.04-6 or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

JHEAD is a simple command line tool for displaying and some manipulation of EXIF header data embedded in Jpeg images from digital cameras. In affected versions there is a heap-buffer-overflow on jhead-3.04/jpgfile.c:285 ReadJpegSections. Crafted jpeg images can be provided to the user resulting in a program crash or potentially incorrect exif information retrieval. Users are advised to upgrade. There is no known workaround for this issue.

Published
Feb 2, 2022
Updated
Jun 16, 2026
EPSS
0.8% · 59th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

24

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
24 / 40 · 6.1 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.8%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
proof of concept
Automatable
no
Technical impact
partial

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
6.1
CNA · GitHub_M
5.3
0.8 point gap

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

The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.

Get told when this record changes

  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • No public exploit code on record
  • A fix has been released

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When you'll hear from us

  • when it enters CISA KEV
  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

VendorProduct
jhead projectjhead

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • jhead project jheadbefore 3.04

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Debian:12jheadbefore 1:3.04-61:3.04-6

Same product

jhead project: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2022-28550Matthias-Wandel/jhead jhead 3.06 is vulnerable to Buffer Overflow via shellescape(), jhead.c, jhead.
    39Monitor
  • CVE-2018-16554The ProcessGpsInfo function of the gpsinfo.c file of jhead 3.00 may allow a remote attacker to cause a denial-of-service attack or…
    32Monitor
  • CVE-2025-44906jhead v3.08 was discovered to contain a heap-use-after-free via the ProcessFile function at jhead.c.
    31Monitor

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2020-6625Jan 8, 2020 · jhead through 3.04 has a heap-based buffer over-read in Get32s when called from ProcessGpsInfo in gpsinfo.c.
    28Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2021-3496Apr 22, 2021 · A heap-based buffer overflow was found in jhead in version 3.06 in Get16u() in exif.c when processing a crafted file.
    31Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2021-28275Mar 23, 2022 · A Denial of Service vulnerability exists in jhead 3.04 and 3.05 due to a wild address read in the Get16u function in exif.c in will cause…
    22Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
debian:jhead1:3.04-6 · Debian:12Package registry (OSV)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

Not on record for this CVE: EPSS history · researcher credit · variant or chain candidate · public bounty program.

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
  • No account or password is required.
  • A user must open a link or visit a page.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
low · data can be read
Integrity
none
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
Low
Integrity impact
None
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-787 · Out-of-bounds Write

CVSS vector

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

nvd-primary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.

References

Show all references (1 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records