CWE-690
Unchecked Return Value to NULL Pointer Dereference
CompoundDraft
Description
The product does not check for an error after calling a function that can return with a NULL pointer if the function fails, which leads to a resultant NULL pointer dereference.
While unchecked return value weaknesses are not limited to returns of NULL pointers (see the examples in CWE-252), functions often return NULL to indicate an error status. When this error condition is not checked, a NULL pointer dereference can occur.
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CVEs mapped to this weakness (1)
| CVE | Sev | Risk | CVSS | EPSS | KEV | Published | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2026-44638 | Low | 0.16 | 2.5 | 0.00 | May 14, 2026 | libsixel is a SIXEL encoder/decoder implementation derived from kmiya's sixel. From to 1.8.7-r1, a wrong NULL check after an allocation call in sixel_decode_raw and sixel_decode causes a NULL pointer dereference whenever the allocation fails. The check tests the address of the output parameter (always non-NULL) instead of the value the malloc returned. On allocation failure, the function continues and writes through a NULL pointer, crashing the process. This is a denial of service against any caller of these public APIs that hits a low-memory condition. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.8.7-r2. |