CVE-2026-120452
Description
A flaw was found in libgphoto2. An attacker connecting a malicious USB camera can trigger out-of-bounds read and write operations during the decompression of oversized image thumbnails. This vulnerability allows the corruption of heap memory, leading to a denial of service (DoS) or the disclosure of sensitive memory contents in preview images.
Statement
This flaw is rated as Moderate severity because successful exploitation requires physical access to attach a manipulated hardware device or an emulated USB peripheral, along with user interaction to trigger thumbnail extraction. While libgphoto2 is commonly installed on Red Hat Enterprise Linux desktop environments and media workstations to interface with digital cameras, default server deployments do not actively parse camera data unless invoked by an operator or automated media-import daemon. Although memory corruption can cause application crashes or disclose adjacent heap contents, an attacker cannot exploit this flaw remotely over a network.
Mitigation
Compile binaries with buffer overflow detection flags (_FORTIFY_SOURCE=2 or higher) to terminate the process before out-of-bounds writes corrupt adjacent memory. In addition, enforce full system-level exploit mitigations—including Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR), full RELRO with Position Independent Executables (PIE), and Control Flow Integrity (CFI)—to impede reliable memory targeting and block unauthorized code execution.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 5.4 | N/A | 5.4 |
| Attack Vector | Physical | N/A | Physical |
| Attack Complexity | Low | N/A | Low |
| Privileges Required | None | N/A | None |
| User Interaction | Required | N/A | Required |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | Low | N/A | Low |
| Integrity Impact | Low | N/A | Low |
| Availability Impact | High | N/A | High |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Integrity
Technical Impact: Modify Memory; Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands
Write operations could cause memory corruption. In some cases, an adversary can modify control data such as return addresses in order to execute unexpected code.
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart
Attempting to access out-of-range, invalid, or unauthorized memory could cause the product to crash.
Other
Technical Impact: Unexpected State
Subsequent write operations can produce undefined or unexpected results.
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