# CVE-2026-46603: Excessive memory allocation during VP8L decoding in golang.org/x/image

> A remote attacker can cause denial of service via memory exhaustion by sending a crafted VP8L image to applications using the Go image library.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 14 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 14 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** CLEANSTART-2026-MQ38153, CLEANSTART-2026-WP80268, CLEANSTART-2026-ZW99644, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-46603, GO-2026-6222, MINI-23vg-gm39-6fx6, MINI-2fjj-wm3h-whrp, MINI-3q5r-3c5f-r89r, MINI-478f-fqrc-rqq3, MINI-496p-xjr5-g2p6, MINI-4xh3-r37v-5wxv, MINI-62fq-mp5j-qc9m, MINI-65h2-qqrx-jv6j, MINI-68v2-j824-w3gj, MINI-73hv-f785-whg2, MINI-8v38-5r85-m842, MINI-9pm5-8p4h-5c4q, MINI-cwmj-r5r8-4qfq, MINI-f2v8-cg49-794h, MINI-fhg8-g9h5-qcwc, MINI-fhr7-xmq3-x39m, MINI-g6qg-h857-p664, MINI-j393-5h77-38mf, MINI-m34x-mhh5-m966, MINI-mvh8-7mh3-fp9w, MINI-mx9m-wgwc-37wj, MINI-p7vc-pcvv-wpp4, MINI-pc6h-r482-h2jg, MINI-pggw-f78v-p58j, MINI-pghm-3v4g-cv7x, MINI-pxcf-2f6f-8hpp, MINI-qgxj-p53m-wp3x, MINI-r274-w92p-h449, MINI-rqxp-hpwp-j4jv, MINI-vqqr-j8gh-gjm7, MINI-w8c7-mmjg-r5v8, MINI-wf9v-j49w-p3g4, MINI-wgvj-23m5-3rm3, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-46603

## What is CVE-2026-46603?

CVE-2026-46603 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in golang.org/x/image/vp8l, published on 14 Aug 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

VP8L decoding in golang.org/x/image/vp8l can allocate an excessive amount of memory when processing a crafted VP8L image containing many unused Huffman tree groups. This allows a remote attacker to cause a denial of service via memory exhaustion.

Weakness: CWE-789 (Memory Allocation with Excessive Size Value)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-46603?

1 open source package ship an affected version, including golang.org/x/image.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `golang.org/x/image` | Go | All versions | 0.45.0 |

## How do I fix CVE-2026-46603?

Upgrade golang.org/x/image to 0.45.0 or later.

## Is CVE-2026-46603 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-46603 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-46603 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-46603 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in golang.org/x/image/vp8l, published on 14 Aug 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-46603 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- golang.org/x/image (Go): affected all versions; fixed in 0.45.0

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-2026-46603/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-46603/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-46603
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-46603
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-46603

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-46603/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.