exiv2 vulnerability

Exiv2 is a C++ library and a command-line utility to read, write, delete and modify Exif, IPTC, XMP and ICC image metadata. An out-of-bounds read was found in Exiv2 versions 0.28.5 and earlier. The out-of-bounds read is triggered when Exiv2 is used to write metadata into a crafted image file. An attacker could potentially exploit the vulnerability to cause a denial of service by crashing Exiv2, if they can trick the victim into running Exiv2 on a crafted image file. Note that this bug is only triggered when writing the metadata, which is a less frequently used Exiv2 operation than reading the metadata. The bug is fixed in version 0.28.6.

Published 29 Aug 2025Updated 19 Oct 20262 sources
CVSS 1.8

What happened

Exiv2 is a C++ library and a command-line utility to read, write, delete and modify Exif, IPTC, XMP and ICC image metadata. An out-of-bounds read was found in Exiv2 versions 0.28.5 and earlier. The out-of-bounds read is triggered when Exiv2 is used to write metadata into a crafted image file. An attacker could potentially exploit the vulnerability to cause a denial of service by crashing Exiv2, if they can trick the victim into running Exiv2 on a crafted image file. Note that this bug is only triggered when writing the metadata, which is a less frequently used Exiv2 operation than reading the metadata. The bug is fixed in version 0.28.6.

Affected versions

exiv2: < 0.28.6 Fixed: See vendor advisory.

Why it matters

Review the vendor advisory and exposure of the affected product to determine operational impact.

Detection & mitigation

  • Apply vendor-provided updates or mitigations.
  • Review affected product exposure and access logs.

Public PoC references

No public PoC reference has passed the current publication threshold.