Use After Free Affecting libsixel package, versions *


Severity

Recommended
low

Based on default assessment until relevant scores are available.

Threat Intelligence

EPSS
0.25% (15th percentile)

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  • Snyk IDSNYK-ECHOLATEST-LIBSIXEL-21184812
  • published18 Oct 2026
  • disclosed14 Apr 2026

Introduced: 14 Apr 2026

CVE-2026-33023  (opens in a new tab)
CWE-416  (opens in a new tab)

How to fix?

There is no fixed version for Echo:latest libsixel.

NVD Description

Note: Versions mentioned in the description apply only to the upstream libsixel package and not the libsixel package as distributed by Echo. See How to fix? for Echo:latest relevant fixed versions and status.

libsixel is a SIXEL encoder/decoder implementation derived from kmiya's sixel. In versions 1.8.7 and prior, when built with the --with-gdk-pixbuf2 option, a use-after-free vulnerability exists in load_with_gdkpixbuf() in loader.c. The cleanup path manually frees the sixel_frame_t object and its internal buffers without consulting the reference count, even though the object was created via the refcounted constructor sixel_frame_new() and exposed to the public callback. A callback that calls sixel_frame_ref(frame) to retain a logically valid reference will hold a dangling pointer after sixel_helper_load_image_file() returns, and any subsequent access to the frame or its fields triggers a use-after-free confirmed by AddressSanitizer. The root cause is a consistency failure between two cleanup strategies in the same codebase: sixel_frame_unref() is used in load_with_builtin() but raw free() is used in load_with_gdkpixbuf(). An attacker supplying a crafted image to any application built against libsixel with gdk-pixbuf2 support can trigger this reliably, potentially leading to information disclosure, memory corruption, or code execution. This issue has been fixed in version 1.8.7-r1.