CVE-2025-29482
📋 TL;DR
A buffer overflow vulnerability in libheif 1.19.7 allows local attackers to execute arbitrary code through SAO processing in libde265. This affects systems using libheif for HEIF/HEIC image processing. Attackers need local access to exploit this vulnerability.
💻 Affected Systems
- libheif
- Applications using libheif for HEIF/HEIC processing
📦 What is this software?
Libheif by Struktur
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Local privilege escalation leading to full system compromise with attacker-controlled code execution.
Likely Case
Local user gains elevated privileges or crashes the application processing malicious HEIF/HEIC files.
If Mitigated
Application crash without code execution if exploit fails or mitigations are in place.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploit requires local access and ability to trigger HEIF/HEIC file processing. Proof-of-concept available in GitHub repository.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: libheif 1.19.8 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/strukturag/libheif/security/advisories
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Check current libheif version. 2. Update to libheif 1.19.8 or later using package manager. 3. Restart applications using libheif. 4. Rebuild any statically linked applications.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable HEIF/HEIC processing
allPrevent applications from processing HEIF/HEIC files using libheif
# Configure applications to reject HEIF/HEIC files
# Remove or disable libheif plugins
Sandbox image processing
linuxRun applications that process HEIF/HEIC files in restricted environments
# Use containerization (Docker with limited capabilities)
# Implement AppArmor/SELinux policies
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Restrict local user access to systems with vulnerable libheif installations
- Implement strict file upload controls to prevent malicious HEIF/HEIC files from being processed
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check libheif version: 'libheif --version' or 'dpkg -l | grep libheif' or 'rpm -qa | grep libheif'Check Version:
libheif --version 2>/dev/null || pkg-config --modversion libheif 2>/dev/null || echo "Check package manager"Verify Fix Applied:
Verify version is 1.19.8 or later and test with known malicious HEIF/HEIC files📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Application crashes when processing HEIF/HEIC files
- Unusual memory access patterns in application logs
Network Indicators:
- Not applicable - local vulnerability
SIEM Query:
Application: (libheif OR heif OR heic) AND Event: (crash OR segmentation_fault OR buffer_overflow)