# CVE-2026-120453: The Sleuth Kit through 4.15.0 Heap Out-of-Bounds Read via HFS+ decmpfs Header

Status: published. Published: 2026-11-02. Updated: 2026-11-02.

The Sleuth Kit through 4.15.0 contains a heap out-of-bounds read vulnerability in hfs_load_extended_attrs() in tsk/fs/hfs.c that reads the decmpfs header without checking attribute length. Attackers can supply a crafted HFS+ image with a com.apple.decmpfs attr_size of 1 to 15 to read past the allocation and crash analysis tools like istat or icat.

## Remediation

No remediation reported in collected sources

## Affected products and versions

- The Sleuth Kit / The Sleuth Kit (sleuthkit/sleuthkit): ≥ 0; ≤ 4.15.0 (affected, semver). Source: CNA: VulnCheck

## Severity and prioritization

- CVSS 4.0: 4.8 (medium); CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N; source: CNA: VulnCheck

- CVSS 3.1: 3.3 (low); CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L; source: CNA: VulnCheck

- CISA KEV: No listing in collected sources

- EPSS: Not available

- SSVC: exploitation poc; automatable no; technical impact partial; source ADP: CISA-ADP

- Weaknesses: CWE-125

## Exploit evidence

- exploit: https://hackmd.io/@haindpwn/sleuthkit-hfs-decmpfs-attr-oob-read (ADP: CISA-ADP)

## References

- https://github.com/sleuthkit/sleuthkit/issues/3583 (CNA: VulnCheck; issue-tracking)

- https://github.com/sleuthkit/sleuthkit/blob/sleuthkit-4.15.0/tsk/fs/hfs.c#L4249-L4318 (CNA: VulnCheck; technical-description)

- https://github.com/sleuthkit/sleuthkit/releases/tag/sleuthkit-4.15.0 (CNA: VulnCheck; release-notes)

- https://hackmd.io/@haindpwn/sleuthkit-hfs-decmpfs-attr-oob-read (CNA: VulnCheck; technical-description)

- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/the-sleuth-kit-through-4.15.0-heap-out-of-bounds-read-via-hfs-decmpfs-header (CNA: VulnCheck; third-party-advisory)

- https://hackmd.io/@haindpwn/sleuthkit-hfs-decmpfs-attr-oob-read (ADP: CISA-ADP; exploit)

## Provenance

- CNA: VulnCheck: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-120453; retrieved 2026-11-02; source updated 2026-11-02

Revision: 3c49662a83247f2c43506e841a2e88b1a69f309fbc62ff93c9938a115ab0483e

Canonical: https://y2.dev/cve/CVE-2026-120453

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