CVE-2023-45666 HIGH

CVE-2023-45666: Possible double-free or memory leak in stbi__load_gif_main in stb_image

Vendor Nothings
Product stb
Weakness CWE-415
Published October 20, 2023
Last update February 13, 2025

CVSS base score

7.3/10
Attack vector Network
Attack complexity Low
Privileges required None
User interaction None
Confidentiality Low
Integrity Low

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L

What the vulnerability does

01Description

stb_image is a single file MIT licensed library for processing images. It may look like `stbi__load_gif_main` doesn’t give guarantees about the content of output value `*delays` upon failure. Although it sets `*delays` to zero at the beginning, it doesn’t do it in case the image is not recognized as GIF and a call to `stbi__load_gif_main_outofmem` only frees possibly allocated memory in `*delays` without resetting it to zero. Thus it would be fair to say the caller of `stbi__load_gif_main` is responsible to free the allocated memory in `*delays` only if `stbi__load_gif_main` returns a non null value. However at the same time the function may return null value, but fail to free the memory in `*delays` if internally `stbi__convert_format` is called and fails. Thus the issue may lead to a memory leak if the caller chooses to free `delays` only when `stbi__load_gif_main` didn’t fail or to a double-free if the `delays` is always freed

Key dates

02Disclosure timeline

October 20, 2023 CVE published
February 13, 2025 Record updated