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NVD / CVE Program· CNA GitHub_M

CVE-2026-35444: SDL_image has a heap buffer overflow READ via unchecked colormap index in XCF loader

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: 0.26% (FIRST EPSS).
  • 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: libsdl2-image (Debian:13) 2.8.8+dfsg-1+deb13u1; libsdl3-image (Debian:13) 3.2.4+ds-1+deb13u1; libsdl2-image (Debian:14) 2.8.10+dfsg-1.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to libsdl2-image (Debian:13) 2.8.8+dfsg-1+deb13u1; libsdl3-image (Debian:13) 3.2.4+ds-1+deb13u1; libsdl2-image (Debian:14) 2.8.10+dfsg-1 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

SDL_image is a library to load images of various formats as SDL surfaces. In do_layer_surface() in src/IMG_xcf.c, pixel index values from decoded XCF tile data are used directly as colormap indices without validating them against the colormap size (cm_num). A crafted .xcf file with a small colormap and out-of-range pixel indices causes heap out-of-bounds reads of up to 762 bytes past the colormap allocation. Both IMAGE_INDEXED code paths are affected (bpp=1 and bpp=2). The leaked heap bytes are written into the output surface pixel data, making them potentially observable in the rendered image. This vulnerability is fixed with commit 996bf12888925932daace576e09c3053410896f8.

MediumCVSS 6.1 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available
Published
Apr 6, 2026
Updated
Jul 24, 2026
EPSS
0.2% · 18th 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 · 0.2%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
none
Automatable
no
Technical impact
partial

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
6.1
CNA · GitHub_M
7.1
1.0 point gap

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

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

Follow CVE-2026-35444

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
libsdlsdl image

Affected versions

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

  • libsdl sdl imagebefore 2026-04-02

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (GitHub_M). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • libsdl-org SDL_image

    • < 996bf12888925932daace576e09c3053410896f8affected

Package-level exposure

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

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Debian:12libsdl2-imagefrom 0—
Debian:12sdl-image1.2from 0—
Debian:13libsdl2-imagebefore 2.8.8+dfsg-1+deb13u12.8.8+dfsg-1+deb13u1
Debian:13libsdl3-imagebefore 3.2.4+ds-1+deb13u13.2.4+ds-1+deb13u1
Debian:14libsdl2-imagebefore 2.8.10+dfsg-12.8.10+dfsg-1
Debian:14libsdl3-imagebefore 3.4.2+ds-13.4.2+ds-1
openSUSE:TumbleweedSDL2_imagebefore 2.8.10-1.12.8.10-1.1
openSUSE:TumbleweedSDL3_imagebefore 3.4.2-1.13.4.2-1.1

Same product

libsdl: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2018-3977An exploitable code execution vulnerability exists in the XCF image rendering functionality of SDL2_image-2.0.3.
    36Monitor
  • CVE-2017-14448An exploitable code execution vulnerability exists in the XCF image rendering functionality of SDL2_image-2.0.2.
    36Monitor
  • CVE-2017-14442An exploitable code execution vulnerability exists in the BMP image rendering functionality of SDL2_image-2.0.2.
    36Monitor

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2017-14441Apr 24, 2018 · An exploitable code execution vulnerability exists in the ICO image rendering functionality of SDL2_image-2.0.2.
    36Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2017-14449Apr 24, 2018 · A double-Free vulnerability exists in the XCF image rendering functionality of SDL2_image-2.0.2.
    35Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2017-14450Apr 24, 2018 · A buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the GIF image parsing functionality of SDL2_image-2.0.2.
    28Monitor

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:libsdl2-image2.8.8+dfsg-1+deb13u1 · Debian:13Package registry (OSV)
debian:libsdl3-image3.2.4+ds-1+deb13u1 · Debian:13Package registry (OSV)
opensuse:SDL2_image2.8.10-1.1 · openSUSE:TumbleweedPackage registry (OSV)
opensuse:SDL3_image3.4.2-1.1 · openSUSE:TumbleweedPackage 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.

No history yet (it accumulates with the daily EPSS job).

Patch and commit links

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

No commit or PR link among the references.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

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

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-125 · Out-of-bounds Read

CVSS vector

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

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.

ATT&CK techniques

—

Change log

  1. Fix✗ → ✓

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

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

All records