KEVWire

Security intelligence, with context.

Response snapshot Oct 27, 2026, 07:21 UTC

Back to the wire
Permalink
VulnerabilityCVE-2026-112902

Pillow: Memory disclosure and segfault in libtiff encoder via crafted TIFF tags

``` ============================================================================ Memory disclosure and segfault in libtiff encoder via crafted TIFF tags Location: src/encode.

Published Updated

At a glance

Exploited
Not known
Severity
8.8 High (CVSS 4.0)
Chance of exploitation
Not estimated
Sources
1 source

What to do

GitHub lists first patched versions: Pillow: 13.0.0. Confirm the affected range and upgrade guidance in the exact advisory.

Read GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-xvh5-g6gv-559v (opens a new tab)

What happened

``` ============================================================================ Memory disclosure and segfault in libtiff encoder via crafted TIFF tags Location: src/encode.c:1014 in PyImaging_LibTiffEncoderNew() Commit: a707c6b21c313880d0771e54965d142dd42358b6 ============================================================================ ```

A crafted TIFF file of a few hundred bytes makes Pillow copy an attacker-chosen amount of its own process memory into the TIFF it writes back out, or crash the process outright. The trigger is an ordinary `Image.open()` followed by a bare `im.save(fp, "TIFF")`. The only precondition is that the application re-saves images as TIFF.

When the uploaded file is compressed, Pillow routes that save through libtiff automatically, with no options from the application. The attached reproducer does this with a 356-byte LZW TIFF: one crafted tag comes back holding 65536 bytes taken from `_imaging.so`'s read-only data, and a second crafted tag makes the worker die with SIGSEGV on every run.

The bug is in `PyImaging_LibTiffEncoderNew` (`src/encode.c`). It decides what arguments to pass to the variadic `TIFFSetField()` from the shape of the Python value (scalar, tuple or bytes). It assumes its `ImagingLibTiffMergeFieldInfo()` call defined how libtiff will read them. But `TIFFMergeFieldInfo()` never overrides libtiff's built-in field table, so libtiff reads the arguments according to its own definition of the tag:

Continue reading

- For a counted array tag such as DNGPrivateData (50740), a count-1 integer in the source file is taken as the byte count. The data pointer is then read from an argument slot Pillow never wrote, and that many bytes are copied into the output. - For a fixed-size array tag such as ActiveArea (50829), the integer itself is used as the source address.

Where that unwritten slot points depends on the compiler. In the tested clang build it points into `_imaging.so`, and a larger count returned thousands of pointers into libpython, libc and libtiff, which defeats address-space randomisation for anyone chaining another bug. When the application preserves metadata with `tiffinfo=im.

tag_v2`, a 64-bit entry turns ActiveArea into a 16-byte read from an address the attacker chooses. All observed memory errors are reads; no out-of-bounds write was found.

Other branches of the same loop share the defect and are reachable from crafted TIFFs or from EXIF in JPEG/PNG/WebP re-saved as compressed TIFF. These are the `bytes`, RATIONAL-tuple and typed-tuple branches, and a BYTE-typed ColorMap. The file-reachable forwarding was introduced in `a3d45e9cefd0` ("Added custom int and float TIFF tags") and first released in 5.4.0.

## Details

`PyImaging_LibTiffEncoderNew` (`src/encode.c:777-1060`) chooses the argument list it hands to the variadic `TIFFSetField()` from the *Python* value of each tag — scalar vs. tuple vs. `bytes`, and a type that is either autodetected or copied from the source file's IFD — and assumes that its own `ImagingLibTiffMergeFieldInfo()` registration defines how libtiff will read the `va_list`.

It does not: libtiff keeps its built-in definition for every tag it already knows, and core tags are never registered at all. libtiff therefore consumes the varargs as `(count, pointer)`, `(pointer)` or three pointers according to *its* field table, whatever Pillow actually pushed.

The encoder never consults that table (`TIFFFindField` / `TIFFFieldPassCount` / `TIFFFieldWriteCount` / `TIFFFieldDataType`) before the call.

The most severe instance, and the one the attached reproducer exercises: when a TIFF is re-saved through the libtiff writer, every tag of the source IFD that Pillow does not recognise is forwarded to libtiff with `TIFFSetField()`. A count-1 integer entry is passed as a single scalar vararg.

If libtiff's own field table defines that tag number as an *array* field, libtiff consumes the varargs as `(count, pointer)` or `(pointer)` instead, so the attacker's integer becomes either the number of bytes to copy from a never-written vararg slot, or the source address itself.

The same mismatch is reachable through the typed tuple branches (tuple length consumed as a pointer for fixed-count built-in tags such as `CFARepeatPatternDim`, even when the source file is well-formed), the `bytes`, `TIFF_RATIONAL`-tuple and core-tag branches of the same loop; those are listed under *Other branches with the same defect* below and need to be covered by the same fix.

A 181-byte TIFF (16×16 RGB, one LZW strip, plus one extra IFD entry `50740 / LONG / count 1 / value 4096` — DNGPrivateData) opened with `Image.open()` and saved with a bare `im.save(buf, "TIFF")` produces a 4296-byte output whose tag 50740 holds 4096 bytes that occur nowhere in the input; scanning `/proc/self/mem` finds them in the read-only data segment of `_imaging.so`.

Changing the extra entry to `50829 / LONG / 1 / 64` (ActiveArea) makes the same two calls segfault in `memcpy(dst, src=0x40, n=16)` under `ImagingLibTiffSetField` ← `PyImaging_LibTiffEncoderNew`. An ASan build of the extensions reports `READ of size 4096` in `memcpy` called from `src/encode.c:1014` for the first input.

### Code path

`_save` copies all tags of the opened image into the libtiff attribute list. For a tag that is neither in `LIBTIFF_CORE` nor in `TiffTags.TAGS_V2`, no type is recorded, so the value goes through untyped:

```python # src/PIL/TiffImagePlugin.py:1782 supplied_tags = {**legacy_ifd, **getattr(im, "tag_v2", {})} … # :1959-1982 for tag, value in itertools.chain(ifd.items(), supplied_tags.items()): if tag not in TiffTags.LIBTIFF_CORE: … elif isinstance(value, (int, float, str, bytes)) or …: type = TiffTags.lookup(tag).type # None for 50740, 50829, … if type: types[tag] = type if tag not in atts and tag not in blocklist: … atts[tag] = value # plain int 4096 ```

`compression` defaults to the source image's `im.info["compression"]` (`TiffImagePlugin.py:1731-1746`), so a compressed source selects the libti

Affected package ranges reported by GitHub: Pillow: <= 12.3.0

Scores and how they were measured

CVSS base severity

8.8

Version 4.0As of

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Measurement source (opens a new tab)

How bad it is if exploited. Not a prediction of exploitation or proof you are exposed.

EPSS probability

Not available

A model's estimate of exploitation in the next 30 days, not certainty or your own risk.

Related technology

Sources

  1. Primary source

    GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-xvh5-g6gv-559v (opens a new tab)

    The public advisory supplies the description, affected package/version ranges, and any listed CVSS metric. GitHub review is not local review.

    Published Checked

  2. Primary source

    GitHub public advisory API page (opens a new tab)

    The API page supplied GHSA-xvh5-g6gv-559v, its actual identifiers, source dates, and structured metrics.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

  3. Primary source

    GitHub public advisory API page (opens a new tab)

    The API page supplied GHSA-xvh5-g6gv-559v, its actual identifiers, source dates, and structured metrics.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

  4. Primary source

    GitHub public advisory API page (opens a new tab)

    The API page supplied GHSA-xvh5-g6gv-559v, its actual identifiers, source dates, and structured metrics.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

  5. Primary source

    GitHub public advisory API page (opens a new tab)

    The API page supplied GHSA-xvh5-g6gv-559v, its actual identifiers, source dates, and structured metrics.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

  6. Primary source

    GitHub public advisory API page (opens a new tab)

    The API page supplied GHSA-xvh5-g6gv-559v, its actual identifiers, source dates, and structured metrics.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

  7. Primary source

    GitHub public advisory API page (opens a new tab)

    The API page supplied GHSA-xvh5-g6gv-559v, its actual identifiers, source dates, and structured metrics.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

  8. Primary source

    GitHub public advisory API page (opens a new tab)

    The API page supplied GHSA-xvh5-g6gv-559v, its actual identifiers, source dates, and structured metrics.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

  9. Primary source

    GitHub public advisory API page (opens a new tab)

    The API page supplied GHSA-xvh5-g6gv-559v, its actual identifiers, source dates, and structured metrics.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

  10. Primary source

    GitHub public advisory API page (opens a new tab)

    The API page supplied GHSA-xvh5-g6gv-559v, its actual identifiers, source dates, and structured metrics.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

  11. Primary source

    GitHub public advisory API page (opens a new tab)

    The API page supplied GHSA-xvh5-g6gv-559v, its actual identifiers, source dates, and structured metrics.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

Cite this record

For factual claims, cite the primary sources above; cite KEVWire for its compilation, dates, and classifications.

APA

KEVWire. (2026, October 21). Pillow: Memory disclosure and segfault in libtiff encoder via crafted TIFF tags (CVE-2026-112902). https://kevwire.com/record/CVE-2026-112902

MLA

"Pillow: Memory disclosure and segfault in libtiff encoder via crafted TIFF tags (CVE-2026-112902)." KEVWire, 21 Oct. 2026, kevwire.com/record/CVE-2026-112902.

Chicago

KEVWire. "Pillow: Memory disclosure and segfault in libtiff encoder via crafted TIFF tags (CVE-2026-112902)." Last modified October 21, 2026. https://kevwire.com/record/CVE-2026-112902.

Evidence summary (plain text)

Pillow: Memory disclosure and segfault in libtiff encoder via crafted TIFF tags (Oct 21, 2026).
```
============================================================================
Memory disclosure and segfault in libtiff encoder via crafted TIFF tags
Location: src/encode.c:1014 in PyImaging_LibTiffEncoderNew()
Commit: a707c6b21c313880d0771e54965d142dd42358b6
============================================================================
```

A crafted TIFF file of a few hundred bytes makes Pillow copy an attacker-chosen amount of its own process memory into the TIFF it writes back out, or crash the process outright. The trigger is an ordinary `Image.open()` followed by a bare `im.save(fp, "TIFF")`. The only precondition is that the application re-saves images as TIFF. When the uploaded file is compressed, Pillow routes that save through libtiff automatically, with no options from the application. The attached reproducer does this with a 356-byte LZW TIFF: one crafted tag comes back holding 65536 bytes taken from `_imaging.so`'s read-only data, and a second crafted tag makes the worker die with SIGSEGV on every run.
CVSS 8.8 (version 4.0; evidence as of Oct 21, 2026; https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-xvh5-g6gv-559v).
Sources:
GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-xvh5-g6gv-559v: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-xvh5-g6gv-559v
GitHub public advisory API page: https://api.github.com/advisories?type=reviewed&per_page=100&sort=updated&direction=desc&after=Y3Vyc29yOnYyOpK0MjAyNi0xMC0yMlQxNTo1Mjo1NlrOAAfxiA%3D%3D
GitHub public advisory API page: https://api.github.com/advisories?type=reviewed&per_page=100&sort=updated&direction=desc&after=Y3Vyc29yOnYyOpK0MjAyNi0xMC0yMlQxNDowNjoxNFrOAAfxZw%3D%3D
GitHub public advisory API page: https://api.github.com/advisories?type=reviewed&per_page=100&sort=updated&direction=desc&after=Y3Vyc29yOnYyOpK0MjAyNi0xMC0yMlQwODoyNzoyM1rOAAYp9A%3D%3D
GitHub public advisory API page: https://api.github.com/advisories?type=reviewed&per_page=100&sort=updated&direction=desc&after=Y3Vyc29yOnYyOpK0MjAyNi0xMC0yMVQyMTozNTo1OFrOAAfwCQ%3D%3D
GitHub public advisory API page: https://api.github.com/advisories?type=reviewed&per_page=100&sort=updated&direction=desc&after=Y3Vyc29yOnYyOpK0MjAyNi0xMC0yMVQyMTozMDoxM1rOAAfv2A%3D%3D
GitHub public advisory API page: https://api.github.com/advisories?type=reviewed&per_page=100&sort=updated&direction=desc&after=Y3Vyc29yOnYyOpK0MjAyNi0xMC0yM1QyMDo0Mzo0NVrOAAf0Iw%3D%3D
GitHub public advisory API page: https://api.github.com/advisories?type=reviewed&per_page=100&sort=updated&direction=desc&after=Y3Vyc29yOnYyOpK0MjAyNi0xMC0yM1QyMDo0MzozMVrOAAf0Ig%3D%3D
GitHub public advisory API page: https://api.github.com/advisories?type=reviewed&per_page=100&sort=updated&direction=desc&after=Y3Vyc29yOnYyOpK0MjAyNi0xMC0yM1QxODozNTowMVrOAAZRcw%3D%3D
GitHub public advisory API page: https://api.github.com/advisories?type=reviewed&per_page=100&sort=updated&direction=desc&after=Y3Vyc29yOnYyOpK0MjAyNi0xMC0yM1QxODozMDoyN1rOAAY_5Q%3D%3D
GitHub public advisory API page: https://api.github.com/advisories?type=reviewed&per_page=100&sort=updated&direction=desc&after=Y3Vyc29yOnYyOpK0MjAyNi0xMC0yM1QxODoyOTowNVrOAAfz8g%3D%3D
Record ID: CVE-2026-112902.
Record origin: Ingested record.
AI evidence: Not assessed.
Known exploitation: Not assessed.
Zero-day status: Not assessed. KEV membership alone does not establish zero-day status.
About this data

This record was ingested from a data source. Retrieved: Oct 26, 2026, 20:55 UTC. Ingestion is not an independent editorial investigation.

A CISA KEV listing documents known exploitation, not necessarily a zero-day; absence from the catalog does not prove a vulnerability has never been exploited.

Technology tags indicate possible relevance, not verified exposure. Confirm the affected product, version, and configuration against your own inventory; KEVWire does not scan your systems.

A personal reading checklist on this device, not verified remediation.

Record JSON

Your account

Email alerts

Email alerts are not available yet. To follow your stack today, use its RSS feed, which honors your filters, or connect an AI agent through the API.

Suggest an improvement

Ideas, missing sources, corrections, and bugs are all welcome. No account needed. Suggestions are reviewed by a person before anything changes.

Record details

Record detail