CVE-2026-14454: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-j48m-64vj-6rm9
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CVSS 9.8
CWE-196
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-14454 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) security vulnerability vulnerability (CWE-196: Unsigned to Signed Conversion Error) affecting Software libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The weakness occurs when the product uses an unsigned primitive and performs a cast to a signed primitive, which can produce an unexpected value if the value of the unsigned primitive can not be represented using a signed primitive.. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2026-14454 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-14454
GHSA Identifier GHSA-j48m-64vj-6rm9
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-196: Unsigned to Signed Conversion Error
Affected Product Software
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 9.8

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2026-14454

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Software dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

mvn dependency:tree

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2026-14454, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Software in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than the patched release), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-196: Unsigned to Signed Conversion Error, where the product uses an unsigned primitive and performs a cast to a signed primitive, which can produce an unexpected value if the value of the unsigned primitive can not be represented using a signed primitive. In Software, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

Imager versions before 1.033 for Perl treat unsigned EXIF IFD entry counts as signed. Imager mishandled large EXIF IFD entry count values, treating them as negative numbers. This could lead to an attempt to allocate a block nearly the size of the address space, which fails and kills the process. An attacker could craft an image with EXIF data that terminates a worker process.

References

NVD — CVE-2026-14454 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-14454
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/tonycoz/imager/commit/06f01a5d0fd591259aeba589370d6888384a6b6d.patch
metacpan.org/release/tonyc/image... WEB
https://metacpan.org/release/TONYC/Imager-1.033/changes
Software Security Information SECURITY
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/07/08/6

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-14454?
CVE-2026-14454 is a security vulnerability in Software classified as a security vulnerability vulnerability under CWE-196: Unsigned to Signed Conversion Error.
Which Software versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches.
What version fixes CVE-2026-14454?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-14454?
CVE-2026-14454 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-14454?
CVE-2026-14454 is classified under CWE-196: Unsigned to Signed Conversion Error (The product uses an unsigned primitive and performs a cast to a signed primitive, which can produce an unexpected value if the value of the unsigned primitive can not be represented using a signed primitive.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2026-14454?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-j48m-64vj-6rm9",
  "modified" : "2026-07-09T18:31:34Z",
  "published" : "2026-07-08T15:31:59Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-14454" ],
  "details" : "Imager versions before 1.033 for Perl treat unsigned EXIF IFD entry counts as signed.\n\nImager mishandled large EXIF IFD entry count values, treating them as negative numbers.  This could lead to an attempt to allocate a block nearly the size of the address space, which fails and kills the process.\n\nAn attacker could craft an image with EXIF data that terminates a worker process.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-14454"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/tonycoz/imager/commit/06f01a5d0fd591259aeba589370d6888384a6b6d.patch"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://metacpan.org/release/TONYC/Imager-1.033/changes"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/07/08/6"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-196" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-07-08T13:16:30Z"
  }
}