CVE-2026-32739: CWE-835: Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop') in strukturag libheif
CVE-2026-32739 is a vulnerability in libheif versions 1. 21. 2 and below where a crafted HEIF file triggers an infinite loop during parsing, causing 100% CPU usage and a denial of service. The issue occurs in the Box_stts::get_sample_duration() function and does not cause a crash or error logs, making detection difficult. This vulnerability has been fixed in libheif version 1. 22. 0.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
The vulnerability CVE-2026-32739 affects libheif, a HEIF and AVIF file format decoder and encoder. In versions prior to 1.22.0, a specially crafted 800-byte HEIF sequence file causes an infinite loop in the Box_stts::get_sample_duration() method. This loop has no exit condition or iteration limit, resulting in the process consuming 100% CPU indefinitely during file parsing, before any user interaction or image decoding occurs. The process remains alive without crashing or logging errors, which can evade crash-based monitoring systems. The issue is resolved in libheif version 1.22.0.
Potential Impact
An attacker can cause a denial of service by supplying a malicious HEIF file that triggers an infinite loop in libheif versions 1.21.2 and below. This leads to full CPU utilization by the affected process, effectively halting progress without crashing or generating error logs, making it difficult to detect through conventional monitoring.
Mitigation Recommendations
This vulnerability is fixed in libheif version 1.22.0. Users and integrators should upgrade to version 1.22.0 or later to remediate this issue. No other official remediation or temporary fixes are documented. Patch status is confirmed by the vendor advisory indicating the fix in version 1.22.0.
CVE-2026-32739: CWE-835: Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop') in strukturag libheif
Description
CVE-2026-32739 is a vulnerability in libheif versions 1. 21. 2 and below where a crafted HEIF file triggers an infinite loop during parsing, causing 100% CPU usage and a denial of service. The issue occurs in the Box_stts::get_sample_duration() function and does not cause a crash or error logs, making detection difficult. This vulnerability has been fixed in libheif version 1. 22. 0.
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
The vulnerability CVE-2026-32739 affects libheif, a HEIF and AVIF file format decoder and encoder. In versions prior to 1.22.0, a specially crafted 800-byte HEIF sequence file causes an infinite loop in the Box_stts::get_sample_duration() method. This loop has no exit condition or iteration limit, resulting in the process consuming 100% CPU indefinitely during file parsing, before any user interaction or image decoding occurs. The process remains alive without crashing or logging errors, which can evade crash-based monitoring systems. The issue is resolved in libheif version 1.22.0.
Potential Impact
An attacker can cause a denial of service by supplying a malicious HEIF file that triggers an infinite loop in libheif versions 1.21.2 and below. This leads to full CPU utilization by the affected process, effectively halting progress without crashing or generating error logs, making it difficult to detect through conventional monitoring.
Mitigation Recommendations
This vulnerability is fixed in libheif version 1.22.0. Users and integrators should upgrade to version 1.22.0 or later to remediate this issue. No other official remediation or temporary fixes are documented. Patch status is confirmed by the vendor advisory indicating the fix in version 1.22.0.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- GitHub_M
- Date Reserved
- 2026-03-13T15:02:00.628Z
- Cvss Version
- 3.1
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Remediation Level
- null
Threat ID: 6a0db4deba1db473627ecdbe
Added to database: 5/20/2026, 1:19:26 PM
Last enriched: 5/20/2026, 1:35:28 PM
Last updated: 5/20/2026, 5:28:42 PM
Views: 4
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