How severe is CVE-2026-33023?

CVE-2026-33023 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.8, rated high severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2026-33023 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (21st percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2026-33023?

CVE-2026-33023 affects Saitoha Libsixel. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.

How do I fix CVE-2026-33023?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

Does CVE-2026-33023 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?

Yes. CVE-2026-33023 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2026-22748.

When was CVE-2026-33023 published?

CVE-2026-33023 was published on 2026-04-14 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2026-33023

CVE-2026-33023 is a high-severity vulnerability in Saitoha Libsixel with a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.8. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-416.

Key facts

Severity: High (CVSS 3.x base score 7.8)
EPSS exploit prediction: 0% (21st percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
EU (EUVD) id: EUVD-2026-22748
Weakness: CWE-416
Affected product: Saitoha Libsixel
Published: 2026-04-14
Last modified: 2026-06-17

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.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-33023?: 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.
How severe is CVE-2026-33023?: CVE-2026-33023 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.8, rated high severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2026-33023 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (21st percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2026-33023?: CVE-2026-33023 affects Saitoha Libsixel. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2026-33023?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
Does CVE-2026-33023 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?: Yes. CVE-2026-33023 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2026-22748.
When was CVE-2026-33023 published?: CVE-2026-33023 was published on 2026-04-14 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (1)

cpe:2.3:a:saitoha:libsixel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

More vulnerabilities in Saitoha Libsixel

CVE-2019-19638 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): An issue was discovered in libsixel 1.8.2. There is a heap-based buffer overflow in the function load_pnm at frompnm.c,…
CVE-2019-19637 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): An issue was discovered in libsixel 1.8.2. There is an integer overflow in the function sixel_decode_raw_impl at…
CVE-2019-19636 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): An issue was discovered in libsixel 1.8.2. There is an integer overflow in the function sixel_encode_body at tosixel.c.
CVE-2019-19635 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): An issue was discovered in libsixel 1.8.2. There is a heap-based buffer overflow in the function sixel_decode_raw_impl…
CVE-2022-27046 — High (CVSS 8.8): libsixel 1.8.6 suffers from a Heap Use After Free vulnerability in in libsixel/src/dither.c:388.
CVE-2022-27044 — High (CVSS 8.8): libsixel 1.8.6 is affected by Buffer Overflow in libsixel/src/quant.c:876.

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