CVE-2026-20889
Memory Safety in Libraw 0.22.0
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
CVE-2026-20889 is a critical-severity Integer Overflow or Wraparound (CWE-190) vulnerability in Libraw Libraw. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 48th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2026-20889 is a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in the x3f_thumb_loader functionality of LibRaw at commit d20315b, published on 2026-04-07T15:17:35.300. The flaw, classified under CWE-190, can be triggered by processing a specially crafted malicious file, leading to a heap buffer overflow. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H), indicating critical severity.
A remote attacker requires no privileges or user interaction to exploit this vulnerability by providing a malicious file to a LibRaw-based application. Successful exploitation can result in high impacts to confidentiality, integrity, and availability, potentially allowing arbitrary code execution or denial of service on the affected system.
The primary advisories are documented in the Talos Intelligence reports at https://talosintelligence.com/vulnerability_reports/TALOS-2026-2358 and https://www.talosintelligence.com/vulnerability_reports/TALOS-2026-2358.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-19620
Vulnerability Data
A heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the x3f_thumb_loader functionality of LibRaw Commit d20315b. A specially crafted malicious file can lead to a heap buffer overflow. An attacker can provide a malicious file to trigger this vulnerability.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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V5.2.1V5.2.6
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Developer testing and evaluation (static analysis, fuzzing, unit tests) directly finds integer overflow defects before deployment.
Input validation directly enforces size checks before buffer copies.
Secure engineering principles require use of safe arithmetic constructs or language features that structurally eliminate integer overflow during calculation.
Memory protection limits the impact of an overflow once it occurs.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Secure SDLC practices directly require use of safe arithmetic, bounds checks, and testing that prevent integer overflows.
Vulnerability identification processes such as code review or scanning detect classic buffer overflows before exploitation.
Routine patching replaces vulnerable code containing unchecked buffer copies with corrected versions.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Secure coding directly requires bounds-checked memory operations, addressing the root cause of CWE-120.
Security testing in development can detect integer overflows before release.
Secure SDLC mandates input validation and arithmetic checks that prevent integer overflows.
Application security requirements include bounds checking and safe arithmetic to avoid overflow conditions.
Secure architecture principles require defensive coding patterns that mitigate integer wraparound risks.