From 0da258a4181997ff8825b5483aa3d28b1f59bcc0 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: mrcksz <4648381+mrcksz@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 2026 05:04:06 +0000
Subject: [PATCH] fix(server): don't trust file extension for HEIF orientation
 handling

Files can carry a .heic/.heif/.avif extension without actually being
encoded as such - e.g. when a tool converts HEIC to JPEG in place but
keeps the original filename/extension. Since the HEIF-vs-classic-EXIF
orientation branch in getExifTags() was keyed purely off
mimeTypes.isHeifImage(asset.originalPath) (extension only), such files
had their perfectly valid EXIF Orientation tag silently discarded
(because no QuickTime Rotation/irot atom exists in a real JPEG), which
in turn left width/height unswapped for sideways images and produced a
squished/stretched thumbnail.

Now the branch is only taken when ExifTool's own content-detected
FileTypeExtension also identifies the file as HEIF-family, reusing the
existing mimeTypes.isHeifImage() extension set instead of hardcoding a
new one.

Fixes #29766
---
 server/src/services/metadata.service.spec.ts | 30 ++++++++++++++++++++
 server/src/services/metadata.service.ts      | 11 ++++++-
 2 files changed, 40 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/server/src/services/metadata.service.spec.ts b/server/src/services/metadata.service.spec.ts
index 57c029961e..8f7fe71be9 100644
--- a/server/src/services/metadata.service.spec.ts
+++ b/server/src/services/metadata.service.spec.ts
@@ -1836,6 +1836,36 @@ describe(MetadataService.name, () => {
       );
     });
 
+    it('should still swap width/height using EXIF Orientation for a .heic-named file that is actually JPEG', async () => {
+      const asset = AssetFactory.create({ originalFileName: 'IMG_1.heic' });
+      mocks.assetJob.getForMetadataExtraction.mockResolvedValue(getForMetadataExtraction(asset));
+      // no QuickTime `Rotation` tag and FileTypeExtension `jpg` - this is what ExifTool reports
+      // for a file that was converted to JPEG in place but kept its .heic extension/filename.
+      mockReadTags({ ImageWidth: 1000, ImageHeight: 2000, Orientation: 6, FileTypeExtension: 'jpg' });
+
+      await sut.handleMetadataExtraction({ id: asset.id });
+      expect(mocks.asset.update).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        expect.objectContaining({
+          width: 2000,
+          height: 1000,
+        }),
+      );
+    });
+
+    it('should ignore EXIF Orientation and use QuickTime Rotation for a genuine HEIC file', async () => {
+      const asset = AssetFactory.create({ originalFileName: 'IMG_1.heic' });
+      mocks.assetJob.getForMetadataExtraction.mockResolvedValue(getForMetadataExtraction(asset));
+      mockReadTags({ ImageWidth: 1000, ImageHeight: 2000, Orientation: 6, FileTypeExtension: 'heic', Rotation: 0 });
+
+      await sut.handleMetadataExtraction({ id: asset.id });
+      expect(mocks.asset.update).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        expect.objectContaining({
+          width: 1000,
+          height: 2000,
+        }),
+      );
+    });
+
     it('should overwrite existing width/height for unedited assets', async () => {
       const asset = AssetFactory.create({ width: 1920, height: 1080, isEdited: false });
       mocks.assetJob.getForMetadataExtraction.mockResolvedValue(getForMetadataExtraction(asset));
diff --git a/server/src/services/metadata.service.ts b/server/src/services/metadata.service.ts
index 171dcfe514..65f4ea84aa 100644
--- a/server/src/services/metadata.service.ts
+++ b/server/src/services/metadata.service.ts
@@ -616,7 +616,16 @@ export class MetadataService extends BaseService {
 
     // don't use Exif Orientation for HEIF based images, it's usually missing or invalid.
     // prefer irot (ExifTool QuickTime:Rotation) mapped to ExifOrientation.
-    if (mimeTypes.isHeifImage(asset.originalPath)) {
+    //
+    // Some files carry a .heic/.heif/.avif extension without actually being encoded
+    // as such (e.g. converted to JPEG in place by external tools before being
+    // imported). Trusting the filename alone would discard a perfectly valid EXIF
+    // Orientation tag below and lead to a squished/stretched thumbnail, since the
+    // dimensions never get swapped for the sideways rotation. ExifTool's own
+    // content-detected FileTypeExtension is the source of truth here, not the name.
+    const isActuallyHeif =
+      mimeTypes.isHeifImage(asset.originalPath) && mimeTypes.isHeifImage(`file.${mediaTags.FileTypeExtension ?? ''}`);
+    if (isActuallyHeif) {
       const orientation = this.getHeifOrientation(mediaTags);
       if (orientation === null) {
         delete mediaTags.Orientation;