vulnerability / NVI-00013995 / Revision 1
ExifReader: DoS via Crafted HEIC/AVIF iloc Box - Memory Exhaustion
GitHub lists this reviewed advisory for exifreader. Published version ranges and source prerequisites are shown below; this is not an inspection of a visitor’s application.
This report has not inspected your inventory, configuration, deployed build, reachability or evidence. A catalog listing and a severity score do not establish exposure or compromise.
01 / Meaning
Why it matters
Published affected context helps an owner decide what evidence to gather. This report has not examined your application.
7.5 high
GitHub source severity; exploitability and local consequence require separate evidence.
As of · GitHub Advisory Database
02 / Applicability
The affected context
Affected versions, configuration prerequisites and known exclusions are public. Confirm each one against the deployed service.
exifreader
source listed<= 4.41.0
## Summary ExifReader 4.41.0 is vulnerable to denial of service through a crafted HEIC or AVIF file with a malicious `iloc` box. When `offsetSize`, `lengthSize`, and `baseOffsetSize` are set to zero in the iloc header, the extent-parsing loop allocates an unbounded number of JavaScript objects - up to `itemCount × extentCount` (65535 × 65535 = 4.3 billion) - without advancing the buffer offset. A 652-byte file causes 400MB of heap growth; a 6KB file exhausts all system memory and crashes the Node.js process with a JavaScript heap out-of-memory error. ## Affected version tested - npm package: `exifreader` - Version: `4.41.0` - Affected formats: HEIC, AVIF (ISO-BMFF container) ## Root cause **File:** `src/image-header-iso-bmff-iloc.js`, lines 79–116, function `getItems()`. The iloc parser reads four size fields from the file (each a 4-bit nibble, valid values 0–15): | Field | Controls | |-------|----------| | `offsetSize` | Bytes per extent offset | | `lengthSize` | Bytes per extent length | | `baseOffsetSize` | Bytes per item base offset | | `indexSize` | Bytes per extent index | The code then enters a nested loop: for each item (up to 65535), and for each extent within that
03 / Response
What to do next
- investigate
Identify the exact component and deployed version, examine the linked publisher’s conditions, and retain evidence of any mitigation.
Confirm current vendor support, compatibility and deployment evidence. This report has not tested a fix in your system. GitHub Advisory Database
A fixed release is not deployment evidence.
Check current vendor support and compatibility. After making a change, verify the deployed build and relevant runtime conditions. Keep the evidence, owner and time. An updated lockfile alone does not prove what is running.
04 / Limits
What this report cannot establish
- Customer inventory, deployment, reachability and exploitation have not been inspected.
05 / Provenance
Sources you can inspect
Each assertion retains its source. Mirrored records may repeat one underlying publisher; additional links are not independent corroboration.
- GHSA-pj96-35fp-cfcc ↗
GitHub Advisory Database · vendor advisory
Observed . GitHub Advisory Database; CC-BY-4.0. Each advisory links its original attribution. Null normalizes fields.
Public revision history
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- Revision 1 ·
First indexed by Null; source disclosure date is shown separately.