Description
libsixel is a SIXEL encoder/decoder implementation derived from kmiya's sixel. Versions 1.8.7 and prior contain a Use-After-Free vulnerability via the load_gif() function in fromgif.c, where a single sixel_frame_t object is reused across all frames of an animated GIF and gif_init_frame() unconditionally frees and reallocates frame->pixels between frames without consulting the object's reference count. Because the public API explicitly provides sixel_frame_ref() to retain a frame and sixel_frame_get_pixels() to access the raw pixel buffer, a callback following this documented usage pattern will hold a dangling pointer after the second frame is decoded, resulting in a heap use-after-free confirmed by ASAN. Any application using sixel_helper_load_image_file() with a multi-frame callback to process user-supplied animated GIFs is affected, with a reliable crash as the minimum impact and potential for code execution. This issue has been fixed in version 1.8.7-r1.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| saitoha | libsixel | < 1.8.7-rc1 | — |
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | libsixel | 1:1.8.7-r2-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | libsixel | No fix yet | — |
| Debian 12 | libsixel | No fix yet | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 26.10 | libsixel | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | libsixel | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 25.10 | libsixel | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | libsixel | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | libsixel | No fix yet | — |
Show 3 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | libsixel | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | libsixel | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | libsixel | No fix yet | — |