CVE-2026-47709: libheif has a NULL pointer dereference in heif_image_handle_get_image_tiling for malformed unci image missing ispe

Severity: medium (CVSS 5.5 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.2% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: yes
Published: 2026-07-21 · updated 2026-10-24
Weakness: CWE-476

Description

libheif is a HEIF and AVIF file format decoder and encoder. Versions prior to 1.22.0 crashes in the public C API `heif_image_handle_get_image_tiling()` when a malformed uncompressed HEIF image item has an associated `uncC` property but no associated `ispe` property. In debug builds this trips the `ispe && uncC` assertion in `ImageItem_uncompressed::get_heif_image_tiling()`. In a release/NDEBUG ASan build, the same file causes a null pointer read at address `0xa8`. Version 1.22.0 fixes the issue.

Affected products

strukturag libheif: before 1.22.0 — fixed in 1.22.0

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: strukturag libheif 1.22.0. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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