CVE-2026-49337 | libde265 has an unbounded memory leak via orphaned slice headers in `read_slice_NAL`

libde265 is an open source implementation of the h.265 video codec. Prior to version 1.0.20, a crafted sequence of H.265 NAL units causes `decoder_context::read_slice_NAL()` (`libde265/decctx.cc:481`) to attach slice headers to a finished picture object that has no active image unit, resulting in attacker-controlled unbounded heap growth. The retained headers are never freed until the picture is released, which may not happen during continuous streaming. Version 1.0.20 patches the issue.

Published: 2026-06-19 Last update: 2026-06-23 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2026-49337 is rated Low Risk (20.6/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.19%). Mandatory action: Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

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-2026-49337

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 2026-06-23 0.05% 0.19% +0.14%
2 2026-06-12 0.05%

Full EPSS history (2 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-49337

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
4.3 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L 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:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
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:L)
Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.
2.8 1.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-49337

OS Trackers for CVE-2026-49337

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2026-49337 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (libde265), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): open 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-49337

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-49337

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
No affected products in dataset.

References for CVE-2026-49337

cvelogic Threat Intelligence