Exiv2 has an out-of-bounds read in QuickTimeVideo::NikonTagsDecoderGHSA-g9xm-7538-mq8w
MEDIUMFix: Exiv2/exiv2#2337GHSA-g9xm-7538-mq8w is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.5) Out-of-bounds Read vulnerability in exiv2. A fix is available for exiv2 — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for GHSA-g9xm-7538-mq8w.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
Where this sits among everything scored
Real-World Exposure
exiv2Real-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects PyPI packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Impact
An out-of-bounds read was found in Exiv2 version v0.28.1. The vulnerable function, QuickTimeVideo::NikonTagsDecoder, was new in v0.28.0 (see https://github.com/Exiv2/exiv2/pull/2337), so Exiv2 versions before v0.28 are not affected. Exiv2 is a command-line utility and C++ library for reading, writing, deleting, and modifying the metadata of image files. The out-of-bounds read is triggered when Exiv2 is used to read the metadata of a crafted video file.
Patches
The bug is fixed in version v0.28.2.
For more information
Please see our security policy for information about Exiv2 security.
Credit
This bug was found by OSS-Fuzz.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | exiv2 | ≥ 0.16.0&&< 0.16.1 | 0.16.1pip install --upgrade 'exiv2==0.16.1' |
Affected Products
exiv2exiv2Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for exiv2, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update exiv2 to 0.16.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-g9xm-7538-mq8w is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Stop feeding it untrusted input: reject or quarantine files and payloads from unverified sources until you can upgrade, restrict accepted formats to the ones you actually need, and run the parsing or decoding step in a least-privileged sandbox or short-lived worker so a crash or corrupted read cannot reach the rest of the process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-g9xm-7538-mq8w in your dependencies?
Find it across PyPI, including transitive dependencies.