Out-of-bounds bit clears in libass via negative Matroska ReadOrder
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- Passive
- Attack complexity
- High
- Attack requirements
- None
- Impact type
- Code execution
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-787 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
libass from 0.17.4 before 0.17.5 does not guard negative Matroska ReadOrder values during event pruning. The out-of-bounds write (CWE-787) lets an attacker clear bits to zero at attacker-controlled positions near the NULL pointer. An attacker needs a user to load a malicious Matroska stream and later prune its events, and the expected result is denial of service.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-10-31
Description from the CNA
libass is a portable subtitle renderer for the ASS/SSA (Advanced Substation Alpha/Substation Alpha) subtitle format. From 0.17.4 until 0.17.5, libass event pruning does not guard negative Matroska `ReadOrder` values, allowing an attacker to clear arbitrarily many bits to zero at attacker-controlled positions near the NULL pointer. Exploitation requires a malicious Matroska stream loaded through `ass_process_chunk`, enabled read-order checking, and later pruning of the malicious events. Read-order checking is enabled by default unless `ass_set_check_readorder` is called with zero; pruning must occur explicitly through `ass_prune_events` or through automatic pruning previously enabled with `ass_configure_prune`. On common systems with arithmetic right shift, 32-bit int values, the upper address region reserved to the kernel, and matching binary/kernel architecture, the expected consequence is denial of service. More extensive exploitation on uncommon systems is theoretical and strongly constrained by the target addresses, bit-clearing-only mutation, and ASLR. This issue is fixed in version 0.17.5.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
Remediation
Update libass to version 0.17.5, which fixes this issue.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-10-31
- Fix · CNA libass (libass) Fixed in 0.17.5
Vendor assessments
Timeline
- 2026-10-30 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-61626
- 2026-10-31 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-10-31 CVSS score added · Red Hat
- 2026-11-01 Priority changed: MEDIUM → LOW
References
More libass vulnerabilities
- TI-2026-83145 Out-of-bounds read and write in libass wrap_lines_measure CVSS 4.0HIGH 7.3
Sources
- CVE-2026-61626 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-61626 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- CVE-2026-61626 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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