sail: Incorrect Calculation of Buffer Size
CVE-2026-54692 is a high-severity incorrect calculation of buffer size vulnerability in sail from HappySeaFox, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 out of 10. It can be exploited with local access to the system by an unauthenticated attacker, but only if a user takes part, for example by opening a link or file. Affected sail versions: < 1.0.0. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.19% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Check which version of sail you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
- Read the advisory on github.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
- Because the attack needs a user to take part, warn users about unexpected links and files related to this product until it is patched.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| HappySeaFox | sail | < 1.0.0 | Not stated |
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- LocalThe attacker needs local access or must trick a user into running something.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Privileges required
- NoneNo account or login is needed.
- User interaction
- RequiredA user must take an action such as opening a file or link.
- Scope
- UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality
- HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
- Integrity
- HighData or code can be modified at will.
- Availability
- HighThe component can be taken down completely.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CNA (github.com).
Official description
SAIL is a cross-platform library for loading and saving images with support for animation, metadata, and ICC profiles. Prior to 1.0.0, sail_codec_load_frame_v8_xbm() in src/sail-codecs/xbm/xbm.c allocates the decoded pixel buffer using the X11 one-byte-per-literal layout, but an X10 static short file causes the flat decode loop to write two file-controlled bytes per literal. When ceil(width/8) produces an odd row stride, the X10 literal count includes a padding byte for every row, but the destination has no space for those bytes, so loading the XBM through sail_load_from_file, sail_load_from_memory, or sail_start_loading_* produces a forward heap overwrite that scales with image height. The X11 static char path is not affected. The overwrite can corrupt process state, cause reliable crashes, and potentially enable code execution in a susceptible consuming application. This issue is fixed in version 1.0.0.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Incorrect Calculation of Buffer Size
The product does not correctly calculate the size to be used when allocating a buffer.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- When allocating a buffer for the purpose of transforming, converting, or encoding an input, allocate enough memory to handle the largest possible encoding. For example, in a routine that converts & characters to & for HTML entity encoding, the output buffer needs to be at least 5 times as large as the input buffer.
- Understand the programming language's underlying representation and how it interacts with numeric calculation (CWE-681). Pay close attention to byte size discrepancies, precision, signed/unsigned distinctions, truncation, conversion and casting between types, not-a-number calculations, and how the language handles numbers that are too large or too small for its underlying representation. Also be careful to account for 32-bit, 64-bit, and other potential differences that may affect the numeric representation.
- Perform input validation on any numeric input by ensuring that it is within the expected range. Enforce that the input meets both the minimum and maximum requirements for the expected range.
More Incorrect Calculation of Buffer Size vulnerabilities (CWE-131)
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: poc, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Patches and release notes
Other vulnerabilities in sail
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
Recent Incorrect Calculation of Buffer Size vulnerabilities
- 7.2 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 8.2 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
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