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Samples

The repository carries one real failing photo at:

samples/failure_magick.HEIC

Current sample

Property	Value
Device	iPhone 15 Pro
iOS	18.0
Size	3,151,842 bytes
Dimensions	4032x3024
Brands	tmap, heic, mif1
SHA256	4b887e6bc345191cbb9836602373b3ec454558ccc62d3518041e085117238fe0
Source	public attachment in libheif #1190 (IMG_1159.zip)

This is the public iPhone 15 Pro / iOS 18.0 sample from the libheif issue, used as a substitute for the original BTN sample. It reproduces the failure on Ubuntu 22.04 with libheif 1.12.0:

Could not read HEIF/AVIF file:
Invalid input: Unspecified: Too many auxiliary image references

Ubuntu 24.04's patched libheif 1.17.6 decodes this particular file, so the production proof is the Ubuntu 22.04 container test. If the original BTN photo becomes available, replace this file and update the metadata and checksum. Do not re-encode it.

The raw bytes matter. Photos, Messages, email and upload services re-encode HEIC and remove the tmap item and auxiliary images that trigger the bug.

Checksum states

heic-fix.sh compares the sample with samples/SHA256SUMS:

State	Meaning	Decode results
verified	checksum matches	used
unverified	no entry, or the placeholder	used
altered	checksum differs	ignored
missing	file not present	decode skipped

The file and checksums live in the repository:

• samples/failure_magick.HEIC
• samples/SHA256SUMS
• SHA256SUMS on GitHub

GPS and metadata

This public sample has no GPS tags. If you replace it with a photo that does, strip location metadata and update the checksum:

exiftool -gps:all= -overwrite_original samples/failure_magick.HEIC
sha256sum samples/failure_magick.HEIC > samples/SHA256SUMS

Check the result before committing:

exiftool -gps:all samples/failure_magick.HEIC

Generate a synthetic test HEIC

CI and local tests generate a normal HEIC with the system encoder:

# Ubuntu 22.04/24.04
sudo apt-get install -y imagemagick libheif-examples libheif-plugin-x265

convert -size 640x480 gradient:'#2050a0-#f0c040' /tmp/input.png
heif-enc -b 8 -q 80 -o /tmp/test.heic /tmp/input.png
heif-info /tmp/test.heic

On Ubuntu 26.04, omit -b 8 for an 8-bit input; the newer encoder rejects it.

A generated file does not reproduce the iOS 18 tmap bug, but it proves the new libheif and ImageMagick can decode HEIC end to end, including with GD loaded.

Why the real sample matters

The synthetic file exercises the normal HEVC path. The real iOS 18 photo exercises the tmap and auxiliary-image handling added in libheif 1.18.2. Keep the real sample in the repository so future changes are checked against the actual failure, not just a happy-path HEIC.