CVE-2026-20911

Memory Safety in Libraw 0.22.0 … 0.22.1

Public PoCMemory Safety

Published

07 April 2026

Modified

15 July 2026

CVSS Score v3.1 9.8

Click a component to see what it means

Raw vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS Score 0.0050 41th percentile

Risk Priority 71 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-20911 is a critical-severity Incorrect Calculation of Buffer Size (CWE-131) 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 41th 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.

A heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2026-20911, affects the HuffTable::initval functionality in LibRaw at commits 0b56545 and d20315b. This flaw, associated with CWE-131 (Incorrect Calculation of Buffer Size), can be triggered by processing a specially crafted malicious file, leading to a heap buffer overflow. The vulnerability carries 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 due to its potential for severe impact.

Any remote attacker can exploit this vulnerability without authentication or user interaction by supplying a malicious file to a vulnerable LibRaw instance, such as in image processing applications that rely on the library. Successful exploitation could result in arbitrary code execution, data corruption, or denial of service, with high impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

Mitigation details and additional technical analysis are provided in the Talos Intelligence advisory at https://talosintelligence.com/vulnerability_reports/TALOS-2026-2330. Security practitioners should review the report for patching guidance specific to affected LibRaw versions and consider input validation for file processing workflows.

EU & UK References

🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-19622

Vulnerability Data

A heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the HuffTable::initval functionality of LibRaw Commit 0b56545 and 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): CWE-131 CWE-120

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation

Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.

attack.mitre.org →

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access

Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.

attack.mitre.org →

T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution

Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.

attack.mitre.org →

T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement

Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.

attack.mitre.org →

T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access Credential Access

Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to collect credentials.

attack.mitre.org →

Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

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CVE-2025-43962Same product: Libraw Libraw

CVE-2025-43961Same product: Libraw Libraw

CVE-2026-20884Same product: Libraw Libraw

CVE-2026-24450Same product: Libraw Libraw

CVE-2026-21413Same product: Libraw Libraw

CVE-2026-5342Same product: Libraw Libraw

Affected Assets

libraw

0.22.0, 0.22.1

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent

Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect

Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden

Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate

Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

V5.2.1

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SA-11 Developer Testing and Evaluation good match

Developer security testing and code review can discover incorrect buffer-size computations before deployment.

SI-10 Information Input Validation good match

Input validation directly enforces size checks before buffer copies.

SA-8 Security and Privacy Engineering Principles partial match

Secure engineering principles directly require correct buffer-size arithmetic and bounds-checked allocation.

SI-16 Memory Protection partial match

Memory-protection mechanisms limit the exploitability of an overflow that results from an incorrect size calculation.

SI-2 Flaw Remediation partial match

Flaw-remediation processes that include vulnerability scanning or static analysis will surface buffer-size errors.

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.

PR.PS-06 mostly match

prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly prevent buffer-size miscalculations via coding standards, reviews, and testing, while fixing this single weakness only partially fulfills the broader control.

ID.RA-01 partial match

prevents

Vulnerability identification processes such as code review or scanning detect classic buffer overflows before exploitation.

PR.PS-02 partial match

prevents

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.

A.8.28 Secure coding mostly match

degrades

Secure coding standards directly require correct buffer-size calculations.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match

finds

Security testing can detect buffer-size errors before release.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match

prevents

Secure development lifecycle mandates size-checking practices that reduce buffer-size miscalculations.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match

prevents

Application security requirements can specify buffer-size validation rules.