CVE-2026-40494 | SAIL has heap buffer overflow in TGA RLE decoder — raw packet path missing bounds check

SAIL is a cross-platform library for loading and saving images with support for animation, metadata, and ICC profiles. Prior to commit 45d48d1f2e8e0d73e80bc1fd5310cb57f4547302, the TGA codec's RLE decoder in `tga.c` has an asymmetric bounds check vulnerability. The run-packet path (line 297) correctly clamps the repeat count to the remaining buffer space, but the raw-packet path (line 305-311) has no equivalent bounds check. This allows writing up to 496 bytes of attacker-controlled data past the end of a heap buffer. Commit 45d48d1f2e8e0d73e80bc1fd5310cb57f4547302 patches the issue.

Published: 2026-04-18 Last update: 2026-04-20 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Deferred，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2026-40494 is rated Moderate Risk (45.3/100): CVSS Critical severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.06%). Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

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-2026-40494

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 2026-04-24 0.04% 0.06% +0.01%
2 2026-04-18 — 0.04% —

Full EPSS history (2 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-40494

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.8 3.1 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 3.9 5.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-40494

OS Trackers for CVE-2026-40494

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2026-40494 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (sail), 2 status rows across 2 suites (sid, trixie): open 1, resolved 1. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-40494
ubuntu medium CVE-2026-40494 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (sail), 5 status rows across 5 suites (jammy, noble, questing, resolute, upstream): needs-triage 4, DNE 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-40494

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-40494

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
No affected products in dataset.

References for CVE-2026-40494

cvelogic Threat Intelligence