# CVE-2026-35444: SDL_image has a heap buffer overflow READ via unchecked colormap index in XCF loader

> A heap buffer overflow in SDL_image's XCF loader allows attackers to read sensitive memory or crash the application via a crafted image file.

- **Severity:** High 7.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:L`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 6 Apr 2026
- **Updated:** 8 Apr 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2026-35444, GHSA-gq8w-x74c-h6p7, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-35444, openSUSE-SU-2026:10493-1, openSUSE-SU-2026:10494-1

## What is CVE-2026-35444?

CVE-2026-35444 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in libsdl-org SDL_image, published on 6 Apr 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

SDL_image is a library to load images of various formats as SDL surfaces. In do_layer_surface() in src/IMG_xcf.c, pixel index values from decoded XCF tile data are used directly as colormap indices without validating them against the colormap size (cm_num). A crafted .xcf file with a small colormap and out-of-range pixel indices causes heap out-of-bounds reads of up to 762 bytes past the colormap allocation. Both IMAGE_INDEXED code paths are affected (bpp=1 and bpp=2). The leaked heap bytes are written into the output surface pixel data, making them potentially observable in the rendered image. This vulnerability is fixed with commit 996bf12888925932daace576e09c3053410896f8.

Weakness: CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-35444?

It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `SDL2_image` | openSUSE:Tumbleweed | All versions | 2.8.10-1.1 |
| `SDL3_image` | openSUSE:Tumbleweed | All versions | 3.4.2-1.1 |

Products: Libsdl Sdl Image.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-35444?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-35444 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-35444 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in libsdl-org SDL_image

- [CVE-2018-3977](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-3977/): Memory corruption in Simple DirectMedia Layer (high 8.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-35444 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-35444 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in libsdl-org SDL_image, published on 6 Apr 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-35444 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: libsdl-org SDL_image. 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-2026-35444/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-35444/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-35444
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-35444
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-35444

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-35444/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.