Vulnerability in libheif (ALPINE-CVE-2025-68431)

Summary

Vulnerability in libheif (ALPINE-CVE-2025-68431). Risk of unauthorized operations or information disclosure. Exploitable via size_t. Mitigation: upgrade to 1.21.2-r0 or later.

Original description

The description as published by the source.

libheif is an HEIF and AVIF file format decoder and encoder. Prior to version 1.21.0, a crafted HEIF that exercises the overlay image item path triggers a heap buffer over-read in HeifPixelImage::overlay(). The function computes a negative row length (likely from an unclipped overlay rectangle or invalid offsets), which then underflows when converted to size_t and is passed to memcpy, causing a very large read past the end of the source plane and a crash. Version 1.21.0 contains a patch. As a workaround, avoid decoding images using iovl overlay boxes.

Source: OSV.dev (Open Source Vulnerabilities) OSV

Auto-generated summary

Assembled by SecPulse from the source data (CVSS, CWE, affected versions) using templates — no AI involved. Check the original description and references below for exact details.

A vulnerability tracked as ALPINE-CVE-2025-68431 has been found in libheif.
Attackers can target a specific entry point like size_t over the network to misuse the product.
Risk of unauthorized operations or information disclosure.
What to do: upgrade libheif to 1.21.2-r0 or later.
If unsure, ask your IT team or search "libheif ALPINE-CVE-2025-68431" on the vendor's site.

ALPINE-CVE-2025-68431 (libheif)
Attack vector: remote (network-reachable) / unauthenticated
Attack surface: size_t / memcpy / iovl
Patched: 1.21.2-r0 — apply immediately
Plan: 1) Audit SBOM/dependencies, 2) Stage→prod upgrade, 3) Add WAF/proxy monitoring on affected endpoints, 4) Hunt IOCs in logs.
Refs: see the GHSA / vendor advisory / patched release linked on this page.

❓ What is the problem

A vulnerability (unclassified) exists in libheif. Attackers reach the vulnerable code path via size_t without authentication.

📍 Affected scope

Check the vendor advisory for the affected versions of libheif. Attack surface: size_t / memcpy / iovl.

🔥 Severity

Severity: ?. Risk of unauthorized operations or information disclosure.

🔧 How to fix

Update to 1.21.2-r0.

🛡️ Workaround

Until the patch is applied: disable the affected feature, apply WAF rules, or restrict access via network ACLs.

🔍 Detection

Search webserver/proxy logs for unusual request patterns matching this CVE's known IOCs. Run grep -r 'libheif' . against your dependency files (package-lock.json, requirements.txt, go.sum) to find affected services.

Response actions

Concrete steps and command examples for SOC/SRE teams to execute in order

1
Identify exposure identify
```
grep -r 'libheif' . | grep -v node_modules
```
リポジトリと本番環境の依存ファイル (package-lock.json / requirements.txt / go.sum / Gemfile.lock 等) で libheif を grep し、稼働しているサービス・バージョンを把握する。
2
Apply patch patch
```
Upgrade libheif to 1.21.2-r0
```
ステージング環境で 1.21.2-r0 に上げて回帰テスト → 本番反映。回帰テストはアプリの主要ハッピーパスを含めること。
3
Post-deployment verification verify
```
Confirm patched version is live in production
```
パッチ適用後、ステージングで PoC または同等の悪用パターンを再現して脆弱性が閉じたことを確認。本番ではアクセスログ・WAF でアラート再発が無いか継続監視。

Affected packages

Alpine:v3.23 libheif

[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"1.21.2-r0"}]}]

References

advisory security.alpinelinux.org