# CVE-2026-3146: libvips matrixload.c vips_foreign_load_matrix_header null pointer dereference

> A local attacker can cause a denial of service via null pointer dereference in libvips matrix loading.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.8 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 25 Feb 2026
- **Updated:** 25 Feb 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2026-3146, GHSA-v5rp-3mcx-fr73, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-3146

## What is CVE-2026-3146?

CVE-2026-3146 is a medium-severity vulnerability in libvips, published on 25 Feb 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability has been found in libvips up to 8.18.0. The impacted element is the function vips_foreign_load_matrix_header of the file libvips/foreign/matrixload.c. The manipulation leads to null pointer dereference. The attack needs to be performed locally. The identifier of the patch is d4ce337c76bff1b278d7085c3c4f4725e3aa6ece. To fix this issue, it is recommended to deploy a patch.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference), CWE-404 (Improper Resource Shutdown or Release)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-3146?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Libvips Libvips.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-3146?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-3146 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-3146 exists.

## Other vulnerabilities in libvips

- [CVE-2019-17534](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-17534/): Use after free in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2026-33327](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-33327/): Possible integer overflow leading to potential heap-based buffer overflow (high 7.0)
- [CVE-2026-35591](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-35591/): Possible heap-based buffer overflow when decoding TIFF image containing well-crafted tile (high 7.0)
- [CVE-2026-33328](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-33328/): Possible integer overflow on 32-bit systems when reading GIF images (medium 6.8)
- [CVE-2026-35590](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-35590/): Possible out-of-bounds read leading to crash when decoding well-crafted EXIF metadata (medium 6.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-3146 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-3146 is a medium-severity vulnerability in libvips, published on 25 Feb 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-3146 exists.

Affected product: libvips. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-3146/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-3146/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-3146
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-3146
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-3146

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-3146/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.