Vulnerability Database

383,426

Total vulnerabilities in the database

sharp: Vulnerabilities in libheif: GHSA-g89c-p67h-r497 and GHSA-2jg2-4ch7-h545 — lovell / sharp

Heap-based Buffer Overflow

Impact

A number of vulnerabilities, two rated as "Critical" severity using CVSSv3, have been discovered and fixed in the upstream libheif dependency. These can lead to possible remote code execution (RCE) on glibc-based Linux when run under certain conditions.

The attack vector for these claims to be "network" however sharp does not provide any networking features so this vulnerability is down-rated to a "High" severity using CVSSv4 but please note its Subsequent System Impact.

Those processing untrusted input with versions of sharp prior to 0.35.4 are affected.

Patches

Using prebuilt binaries provided by sharp?

Most people rely on the prebuilt binaries provided by sharp.

Please upgrade sharp to the latest version, currently 0.35.4, which provides libheif 1.23.2.

Using a globally-installed libheif?

Please ensure you are using the latest libheif 1.23.2.

Workarounds

Add the following to your code to prevent sharp from decoding AVIF images.

sharp.block({ operation: ["VipsForeignLoadHeif"] });

Ensure you are using a node executable binary compiled as a Position Independent Executable (PIE). Most Linux package managers already do this for protection against RCE however be warned that the "official" Node.js binaries do not.

References

  • CVE-2026-84383
  • https://github.com/strukturag/libheif/security/advisories/GHSA-2jg2-4ch7-h545
  • Published: Sep 8, 2026
  • Updated: Sep 9, 2026
  • GHSA: GHSA-rgj7-g3m4-5g8c
  • Severity: High
  • Exploit:
  • CISA KEV:

No technical information available.

CWEs:

Frequently Asked Questions

A security vulnerability is a weakness in software, hardware, or configuration that can be exploited to compromise confidentiality, integrity, or availability. Many vulnerabilities are tracked as CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures), which provide a standardized identifier so teams can coordinate patching, mitigation, and risk assessment across tools and vendors.

CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) estimates technical severity, but it doesn't automatically equal business risk. Prioritize using context like internet exposure, affected asset criticality, known exploitation (proof-of-concept or in-the-wild), and whether compensating controls exist. A "Medium" CVSS on an exposed, production system can be more urgent than a "Critical" on an isolated, non-production host.

A vulnerability is the underlying weakness. An exploit is the method or code used to take advantage of it. A zero-day is a vulnerability that is unknown to the vendor or has no publicly available fix when attackers begin using it. In practice, risk increases sharply when exploitation becomes reliable or widespread.

Recurring findings usually come from incomplete Asset Discovery, inconsistent patch management, inherited images, and configuration drift. In modern environments, you also need to watch the software supply chain: dependencies, containers, build pipelines, and third-party services can reintroduce the same weakness even after you patch a single host. Unknown or unmanaged assets (often called Shadow IT) are a common reason the same issues resurface.

Use a simple, repeatable triage model: focus first on externally exposed assets, high-value systems (identity, VPN, email, production), vulnerabilities with known exploits, and issues that enable remote code execution or privilege escalation. Then enforce patch SLAs and track progress using consistent metrics so remediation is steady, not reactive.

SynScan combines attack surface monitoring and continuous security auditing to keep your inventory current, flag high-impact vulnerabilities early, and help you turn raw findings into a practical remediation plan.