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CVE Record

CVE-2020-36278: Leptonica before 1.80.0 allows a heap-based buffer over-read in findNextBorderPixel in ccbord.c.

Leptonica before 1.80.0 allows a heap-based buffer over-read in findNextBorderPixel in ccbord.c.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2020-36278 is an out-of-bounds read bug in Leptonica before 1.80.0. Risk depends on whether systems process attacker-controlled images or documents through this library. Public sources show fixes and Linux distribution advisories, but no KEV listing or CVSS score is provided.

Executive priority

Treat as a routine but real supply-chain hygiene issue. Prioritize systems that accept external files for OCR, image analysis, or document conversion, because malformed inputs could trigger memory-safety failure paths.

Technical view

Leptonica before 1.80.0 has a heap-based buffer over-read in findNextBorderPixel in ccbord.c. The source bundle links an upstream commit, a 1.79.0-to-1.80.0 comparison, an OSS-Fuzz issue, and Debian, Fedora, and Gentoo security advisories.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely where Leptonica or leptonlib before 1.80.0 is used to parse untrusted image or document inputs. The provided affected metadata is incomplete, so teams should confirm both packaged and embedded library copies.

Exploitation context

The source bundle does not show active exploitation, and KEV is false. OSS-Fuzz involvement suggests the flaw was found through fuzz testing. Public details support a memory-read vulnerability, but not weaponized exploitation or a confirmed real-world campaign.

Researcher notes

Evidence is limited but consistent: CVE text names the vulnerable function and version boundary, while upstream and distro references point to remediation. No CVSS, CWE, affected CPEs, or public exploitation evidence is present in the provided bundle.

Mitigation direction

  • Upgrade Leptonica to 1.80.0 or later where directly managed.
  • Apply fixed leptonlib packages from affected Linux distribution channels.
  • Check Debian, Fedora, and Gentoo advisories for backported package versions.
  • Reduce exposure to untrusted image processing until vulnerable builds are replaced.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Leptonica and leptonlib versions across hosts, containers, and build images.
  • Confirm packaged or embedded versions are 1.80.0 or vendor-fixed backports.
  • Identify services that process externally supplied images or documents.
  • Review crash telemetry around image-processing paths for unusual failures.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
9

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

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CVE-2020-36278 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

0CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
8Source links

CVSS and timeline data

No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
n/an/an/aListed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.