Vulnerability · Published Sep 17, 2026 · Assigned by GitHub_M
CVE-2026-85715ExifReader: DoS via Crafted HEIC/AVIF iloc Box - Memory Exhaustion
High 7.5
In plain English
A high-severity infinite loop in ExifReader from mattiasw. Proof-of-concept exploit code is public. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.6% (higher than 49% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.
Official description
ExifReader is a JavaScript Exif information parser. Prior to 4.41.1, ExifReader parses attacker-controlled HEIC or AVIF ISO-BMFF files in getItems() within src/image-header-iso-bmff-iloc.js and trusts iloc itemCount and extentCount values while allocating an extent object for every nested-loop iteration. When offsetSize, lengthSize, baseOffsetSize, and indexSize are zero, the extent fields consume no input bytes and the buffer offset does not advance, but the parser can still allocate up to itemCount multiplied by extentCount objects without an allocation budget. A small malicious iloc box can therefore cause hundreds of megabytes of heap growth or exhaust system memory, terminating a Node.js process and denying service to web, desktop, or mobile applications that parse untrusted images. The zero field widths are valid ISO-BMFF values indicating absent fields, so the vulnerable parser must bound work rather than relying on offset advancement. The issue is fixed in version 4.41.1.
Affected packages & fixed versions
| Ecosystem | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| npm | exifreader | 4.41.1 | GHSA-pj96-35fp-cfcc |
Affected products (as reported)
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| mattiasw | ExifReader | < 4.41.1 |
Weakness: CWE-789, CWE-835 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H