CVE-2026-27596 | Exiv2: Integer Underflow in LoaderNative::getData() Causes Heap Buffer Overflow

Exiv2 is a C++ library and a command-line utility to read, write, delete and modify Exif, IPTC, XMP and ICC image metadata. Prior to version 0.28.8, an out-of-bounds read was found in Exiv2. The vulnerability is in the preview component, which is only triggered when running Exiv2 with an extra command line argument, like -pp. The out-of-bounds read is at a 4GB offset, which usually causes Exiv2 to crash. This issue has been patched in version 0.28.8.

Published: 2026-03-02 Last update: 2026-03-05 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2026-27596 is rated Low Risk (16.6/100): CVSS Low severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.05%). Mandatory action: Low composite risk—no urgent action required; patch on your normal maintenance cycle and revisit priority if CVSS or EPSS increases.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2026-27596

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-03-08 0.04% 0.05% +0.01%
2 2026-03-03 0.04%

Full EPSS history (2 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-27596

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
2.7 4.0 LOW
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and stable.
Attack requirements (AT:N)
No additional preconditions are required beyond normal reachability.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No privileges are required.
User interaction (UI:N)
No user interaction is required.
Vulnerable system confidentiality impact (VC:N)
No confidentiality impact on the vulnerable system.
Vulnerable system integrity impact (VI:L)
Limited integrity impact on the vulnerable system.
Vulnerable system availability impact (VA:N)
No availability impact on the vulnerable system.
Subsequent system confidentiality impact (SC:N)
No confidentiality impact on subsequent systems.
Subsequent system integrity impact (SI:N)
No integrity impact on subsequent systems.
Subsequent system availability impact (SA:N)
No availability impact on subsequent systems.
Exploit maturity (threat) (E:U)
Unreported: no public PoC, no reported exploitation, and no known simplification tools.
Confidentiality requirement (CR:X)
Not defined: insufficient information; scoring treats this like High (worst case).
Integrity requirement (IR:X)
Not defined: insufficient information; scoring treats this like High (worst case).
Availability requirement (AR:X)
Not defined: insufficient information; scoring treats this like High (worst case).
Modified attack vector (MAV:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base Attack Vector (AV).
Modified attack complexity (MAC:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base Attack Complexity (AC).
Modified attack requirements (MAT:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base Attack Requirements (AT).
Modified privileges required (MPR:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base Privileges Required (PR).
Modified user interaction (MUI:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base User Interaction (UI).
Modified vulnerable system confidentiality impact (MVC:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base VC metric.
Modified vulnerable system integrity impact (MVI:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base VI metric.
Modified vulnerable system availability impact (MVA:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base VA metric.
Modified subsequent system confidentiality impact (MSC:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base SC metric.
Modified subsequent system integrity impact (MSI:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base SI metric.
Modified subsequent system availability impact (MSA:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base SA metric.
Safety (supplemental) (S:X)
Not evaluated.
Automatable (supplemental) (AU:X)
Not evaluated.
Recovery (supplemental) (R:X)
Not evaluated.
Value density (supplemental) (V:X)
Not evaluated.
Vulnerability response effort (supplemental) (RE:X)
Not evaluated.
Provider urgency (supplemental) (U:X)
Not evaluated.
[email protected]
7.5 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
3.9 3.6 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-27596

OS Trackers for CVE-2026-27596

vendor priority summary link
alpine CVE-2026-27596: 1 source package rows (exiv2); 16 state rows across 2 repos (3.23-community, edge-community); fixed 0, open 16. https://security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2026-27596
debian not yet assigned CVE-2026-27596 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (exiv2), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): open 3, resolved 2. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-27596
gentoo low CVE-2026-27596: 1 GLSA(s) (202603-01), 1 atom(s) (media-gfx/exiv2); latest impact low. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2026-27596
redhat low https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-27596
suse medium CVE-2026-27596 severity moderate: SUSE including 11 source package names (cockpit-bridge-322-slfo.1.1_2.1, cockpit-kdump-322-slfo.1.1_2.1, …), 24 product×package rows across 12 product lines (Image SL-Micro-EC2, Image SLE-Micro, … (12 product lines)): Fixed 22, First Fixed 2. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-27596/
ubuntu medium CVE-2026-27596 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (exiv2), 7 status rows across 7 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, questing, upstream, xenial): released 7. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-27596

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-27596

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
exiv2 exiv2 < 0.28.8 cpe:2.3:a:exiv2:exiv2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2026-27596

cvelogic Threat Intelligence