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Libheif CVE-2019-11471

HIGH
Use After Free (CWE-416)
2019-04-23 cve@mitre.org
8.8
CVSS 3.0 · NVD
View

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Memory lifecycle management
MITRE ATT&CK

2 techniques across 2 tactics: Execution, Privilege Escalation

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Impact

CVSS score of 8.8 (HIGH). Attack characteristics: network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, user interaction required. Public proof-of-concept exploit code is available.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A remote attacker could access freed memory to execute arbitrary code or crash the application by sending crafted requests to the affected application. No authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
Patch available 1.8% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

libheif 1.4.0 has a use-after-free in heif::HeifContext::Image::set_alpha_channel in heif_context.h because heif_context.cc mishandles references to non-existing alpha images. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.

RemediationAI

A vendor patch is available. Apply the latest security update as soon as possible. Use smart pointers or garbage-collected languages. Set pointers to NULL after freeing. Enable memory sanitizers.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified as Use After Free (CWE-416), which allows attackers to access freed memory to execute arbitrary code or crash the application. libheif 1.4.0 has a use-after-free in heif::HeifContext::Image::set_alpha_channel in heif_context.h because heif_context.cc mishandles references to non-existing alpha images. Affected products include: Struktur Libheif.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 8.8 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

DescriptionNVD

libheif 1.4.0 has a use-after-free in heif::HeifContext::Image::set_alpha_channel in heif_context.h because heif_context.cc mishandles references to non-existing alpha images.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
1.8%
Top 24% exploitable
Exploit
POC
Public exploit code exists
Data Quality
3 sources
Confidence: Low

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC Yes
EPSS 1.8%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation· derived
Poc
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable· derived
No
Human Impact· derived
Medium

Priority Score

66
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: +2
CVSS: +44
PoC: +20
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Use-after-free vulnerabilities occur when a program continues to access memory through a pointer after that memory has been deallocated.

Memory corruption occurs when a program writes data beyond the boundaries of allocated memory regions or accesses memory in unintended ways, violating the integrity of the process's address space.

Information disclosure occurs when an application unintentionally exposes sensitive data that aids attackers in reconnaissance or directly compromises security.

Affected Products (CPE)NVD

cpe:2.3:a:struktur:libheif:1.4.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
CVE-2023-49464 HIGH POC
8.8 Dec 07

libheif v1.17.5 was discovered to contain a segmentation violation via the function UncompressedImageCodec::get_luma_bit

CVE-2023-49463 HIGH POC
8.8 Dec 07

libheif v1.17.5 was discovered to contain a segmentation violation via the function find_exif_tag at /libheif/exif.cc. R

CVE-2023-49462 HIGH POC
8.8 Dec 07

libheif v1.17.5 was discovered to contain a segmentation violation via the component /libheif/exif.cc. Rated high severi

CVE-2023-49460 HIGH POC
8.8 Dec 07

libheif v1.17.5 was discovered to contain a segmentation violation via the function UncompressedImageCodec::decode_uncom

CVE-2024-41311 HIGH POC
8.1 Oct 15

In Libheif 1.17.6, insufficient checks in ImageOverlay::parse() decoding a heif file containing an overlay image with fo

CVE-2024-25269 HIGH POC
7.5 Mar 05

libheif <= 1.17.6 contains a memory leak in the function JpegEncoder::Encode. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulne

CVE-2025-68431 HIGH POC
7.1

Out-of-bounds read in libheif's HEIF/HEIC overlay processing can disclose limited memory contents and crash affected app

CVE-2023-29659 MEDIUM POC
6.5 May 05

A Segmentation fault caused by a floating point exception exists in libheif 1.15.1 using crafted heif images via the hei

CVE-2025-29482 MEDIUM POC
6.2 Apr 07

Buffer Overflow vulnerability in libheif 1.19.7 allows a local attacker to execute arbitrary code via the SAO (Sample Ad

CVE-2026-84383 CRITICAL
9.8 Sep 04

Heap-based buffer overflow in libheif before 1.23.2 allows remote attackers to corrupt memory and potentially achieve co

CVE-2026-32740 HIGH
8.8 May 19

Heap buffer overflow write in libheif (versions ≤ 1.21.2) lets a crafted HEIF/AVIF file write 64 bytes of attacker-contr

CVE-2026-47178 HIGH
7.8 Jul 21

Arbitrary code execution in libheif 1.19.0 through 1.21.2 via a crafted HEIF file with uncompressed, tiled, component-in

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