---
id: CVE-2025-26623
aliases:
  - GHSA-38h4-fx85-qcx7
  - PYSEC-2026-1353
title: Exiv2 allows Use After Free
summary: Exiv2 allows Use After Free
severity: medium
vendor: exiv2
product: exiv2
ecosystem: pip
affected:
  - 'exiv2 >= 0.28.0, < 0.28.5'
patched:
  - exiv2 0.28.5
published: '2025-02-21'
updated: '2026-07-07'
source: OSV
sourceUrl: 'https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-38h4-fx85-qcx7'
references:
  - url: 'https://github.com/Exiv2/exiv2/security/advisories/GHSA-38h4-fx85-qcx7'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-26623'
  - url: 'https://github.com/Exiv2/exiv2/issues/3168'
  - url: 'https://github.com/Exiv2/exiv2/pull/3174'
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/jim-easterbrook/python-exiv2/commit/4cc875e392f9e0bc705fe03d929b9a382b78dae4
  - url: 'https://github.com/Exiv2/exiv2'
tags:
  - osv
  - pip
epss: 0.00916
epssPercentile: 0.58444
ingestedAt: '2026-07-08T18:25:44.875Z'
---

## Overview

### Impact
A heap buffer overflow was found in Exiv2 versions v0.28.0 to v0.28.4. Versions prior to v0.28.0, such as v0.27.7, are **not** affected. Exiv2 is a command-line utility and C++ library for reading, writing, deleting, and modifying the metadata of image files. The heap overflow is triggered when Exiv2 is used to write metadata into a crafted image file. An attacker could potentially exploit the vulnerability to gain code execution, if they can trick the victim into running Exiv2 on a crafted image file.

Note that this bug is only triggered when writing the metadata, which is a less frequently used Exiv2 operation than reading the metadata. For example, to trigger the bug in the Exiv2 command-line application, you need to add an extra command-line argument such as `fixiso`.

### Patches
The bug is fixed in version v0.28.5.

### References
Issue: https://github.com/Exiv2/exiv2/issues/3168
Fix: https://github.com/Exiv2/exiv2/pull/3174

### For more information
Please see our [security policy](https://github.com/Exiv2/exiv2/security/policy) for information about Exiv2 security.

## Affected packages

- `exiv2 >= 0.28.0, < 0.28.5`

## Remediation

Upgrade to a patched release:

- `exiv2 0.28.5`