Low severity · published May 14, 2026
CVE-2026-44638
libsixel: NULL pointer dereference
2.5
CVSS
0.1%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
libsixel is a SIXEL encoder/decoder implementation derived from kmiya's sixel. From to 1.8.7-r1, a wrong NULL check after an allocation call in sixel_decode_raw and sixel_decode causes a NULL pointer dereference whenever the allocation fails. The check tests the address of the output parameter (always non-NULL) instead of the value the malloc returned. On allocation failure, the function continues and writes through a NULL pointer, crashing the process. This is a denial of service against any caller of these public APIs that hits a low-memory condition. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.8.7-r2.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Low
Scope
Unchanged
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.1% · higher than 3% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
LI
libsixel · saitoha
>= 1.0.0, < 1.8.7-r2 · source: vendor, NVD
References
NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-44638
CVE.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-44638
Exploit
https://github.com/saitoha/libsixel/security/advisories/GHSA-wpx3-h5g8-qr3w
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