EUVD-2026-30968Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Primary rating from NVD.
CVSS VectorNVD
Lifecycle Timeline
5DescriptionNVD
Kitty is a cross-platform GPU based terminal. In versions 0.46.2 and below, the handle_compose_command() function in kitty/graphics.c performs bounds validation on composition offsets using unsigned 32-bit arithmetic that is subject to integer wrapping, potentially leading to Heap Buffer Over-Read/Write. An attacker who can write escape sequences to a kitty terminal (e.g., via a malicious file, SSH login banner, or piped content) can supply crafted x_offset/y_offset values that pass the bounds check after wrapping but cause massive out-of-bounds heap memory access in compose_rectangles(). No user interaction is required. No non-default configuration is required. The attacker only needs the ability to produce output in a kitty terminal window. This issue has been fixed in version 0.47.0.
AnalysisAI
Heap memory corruption in Kitty cross-platform GPU terminal emulator (versions 0.46.2 and below) allows remote attackers to trigger out-of-bounds heap reads and writes by emitting crafted graphics protocol escape sequences. The flaw stems from a 32-bit integer overflow in handle_compose_command() that lets malicious x_offset/y_offset values bypass bounds checks. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, but the bug requires no user interaction, no authentication, and works against default configurations whenever attacker-controlled bytes can reach the terminal - including via SSH banners, cat'd files, or piped output.
Technical ContextAI
Kitty is a widely deployed GPU-accelerated terminal emulator written in C by Kovid Goyal (CPE cpe:2.3:a:kovidgoyal:kitty). The vulnerability is in kitty/graphics.c, specifically the handle_compose_command() routine of Kitty's proprietary graphics protocol that lets terminals render bitmap images via escape sequences. Per CWE-190 (Integer Overflow or Wraparound), the original code declared width, height, dest_x, dest_y, src_x, and src_y as 32-bit unsigned ints and combined them in arithmetic bounds checks. Because each component is itself a full 32-bit value, sums such as dest_x + width wrap around past UINT32_MAX, making the validity check pass even when the resulting region extends far outside the source/destination image buffers. The patched code (commit e9661f0f3afb) widens these locals to uint64_t so the addition cannot overflow during validation before reaching compose_rectangles().
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch: upgrade to Kitty 0.47.0 or later, which widens the offset arithmetic to uint64_t (commit https://github.com/kovidgoyal/kitty/commit/e9661f0f3afb4e4dbffa509adfb3df3c9780ad34); the advisory is at https://github.com/kovidgoyal/kitty/security/advisories/GHSA-qfgm-2c64-6x3x. Where immediate upgrade is impossible, compensating controls include avoiding cat/less/tail on untrusted files (pipe through a sanitizer such as cat -v or strings which strips control bytes), disabling automatic display of SSH banners by setting LogLevel QUIET / using ssh -q, and configuring tooling to filter or escape the Kitty graphics-protocol introducer (ESC _G ... ESC \) before content reaches the terminal; the trade-off is loss of legitimate inline-image features (icat, image previews in file managers, terminal-rendered plots) until patched.
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Same weakness CWE-190 – Integer Overflow or Wraparound
View allSame technique Buffer Overflow
View allVendor StatusVendor
SUSE
Severity: Critical| Product | Status |
|---|---|
| openSUSE Leap 16.0 | Fixed |
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