# CVE-2026-41071: libheif: Heap buffer over-read in SampleAuxInfoReader via crafted HEIF sequence file with mismatched saiz sample count

> Attackers can cause crashes or leak memory by tricking applications using libheif into opening malicious HEIF files.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.1 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:L/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **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:** 22 May 2026
- **Updated:** 27 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-41071, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-41071, GHSA-xj92-xjff-h8w3, JLSEC-2026-574, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2026-41071, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2026-41071, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-41071

## What is CVE-2026-41071?

CVE-2026-41071 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in strukturag libheif, published on 22 May 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

libheif is a HEIF and AVIF file format decoder and encoder. In versions 1.21.2 and prior, a crafted HEIF sequence file where the saiz box declares more samples than actually exist in the track's chunk table causes a heap-buffer-overflow (out-of-bounds read) in the SampleAuxInfoReader constructor. The SampleAuxInfoReader constructor iterates over saiz->get_num_samples() samples but doesn't validate that this count is consistent with the number of chunks in the chunks vector. When saiz declares more samples than the chunks cover, the loop increments current_chunk past chunks.size(), causing an out-of-bounds read on the chunks vector. The vulnerability is triggered during file parsing (heif_context_read_from_file) without any additional user interaction. Any application using libheif to open untrusted HEIF files is affected. This issue has been fixed in version 1.22.0.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-41071?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Struktur Libheif.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-41071?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2026-41071 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-41071 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in strukturag libheif

- [CVE-2026-32740](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-32740/): libheif: Heap-Buffer-Overflow Write in Grid Tile Chroma Compositing (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2023-49460](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-49460/): Null dereference in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2023-49462](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-49462/): Null dereference in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2023-49463](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-49463/): Null dereference in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2023-49464](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-49464/): Null dereference in n/a (high 8.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-41071 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-41071 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in strukturag libheif, published on 22 May 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-2026-41071 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: strukturag libheif. 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-2026-41071/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-41071/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-41071
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-41071
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-41071

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-41071/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.