CVE-2026-112898 · GHSA-rfgq-q3w2-pmv2
Pillow: Image.quantize() with empty palette leaks uninitialized stack memory
- Risk score
- 50/100
- CVSS
- 6.9 v4.0
- Exploit chance (30 days)
- 0.3%
- Published
- 19 Oct 2026
Open in the live forecast Today's forecast
What to know
- What it is
- Pillow is a Python imaging library. From 9.1.0 until 13.0.0, Pillow can disclose uninitialized stack memory when Image.quantize() uses an empty palette. ImagingPaletteCacheUpdate() leaves a local cache array uninitialized when the palette has zero entries, and the conversion path emits those bytes as output pixel indi…
- Affected
- Pillow (pip) >= 9.1.0, < 13.0.0
- Fix
- Upgrade Pillow to 13.0.0 or later.
- Exploitation
- No known exploitation
Story map
At a glance
Pillow: Amber, patch this week. Pillow has a heap buffer overflow and stale-heap disclosure in _tiffWriteProc when saving compressed TIFF data through libtiff to a target without a usable fileno(). This can crash the process and may allow code execution.
The flaws
- CVE-2026-112898: Image.quantize() with empty palette leaks uninitialized stack memory (CVSS 6.9 · EPSS 0%)
- CVE-2026-112393: Heap buffer overflow in _tiffWriteProc when saving TIFF to BytesIO (CVSS 9.2 · EPSS 1%)
- CVE-2026-96639: Pillow multi-frame loaders can reuse stale native image storage after mode transitions (CVSS 9.8 · EPSS 1%)
- CVE-2026-112900: Argument Injection in Ghostscript call, potentially leading into RCE (CVSS 9.2 · EPSS 0%)
The fix
Upgrade Pillow: 13.0.0 or later on your release line
Who is exposed: {'products': ['Pillow'], 'packages': ['Pillow'], 'versions': ['>= 2.0.0, < 13.0.0']}
Where it stands
- Public proof of concept
- 1 outlet covering it
How it unfolded
- 23 Oct, The Hacker News (press): Critical Flaw in Python’s Popular Pillow Image Library Allows Code Execution via a Crafted Image
Connects to
- Same weakness: CWE-457 (CWE-457). 9 other warnings in 30 days
Why it is Yellow
- CVSS 6.9 medium
- On your watchlist: PyPI
Affected packages
| Package | Ecosystem | Vulnerable | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pillow | pip | >= 9.1.0, < 13.0.0 | 13.0.0 |
References
- https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-rfgq-q3w2-pmv2
- https://github.com/python-pillow/Pillow/security/advisories/GHSA-rfgq-q3w2-pmv2
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-112898
- https://github.com/python-pillow/Pillow/commit/13943c8f857b22f073d30f0ef9b725a0d255f1a4
- https://github.com/python-pillow/Pillow/releases/tag/13.0.0
- https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-rfgq-q3w2-pmv2
Original description
Pillow is a Python imaging library. From 9.1.0 until 13.0.0, Pillow can disclose uninitialized stack memory when Image.quantize() uses an empty palette. ImagingPaletteCacheUpdate() leaves a local cache array uninitialized when the palette has zero entries, and the conversion path emits those bytes as output pixel indices. An attacker who controls the palette image can obtain stack contents from a returned PNG or GIF. This can disclose addresses and stack-canary data without an out-of-bounds access, memory corruption, or process crash. This issue is fixed in version 13.0.0.
Last activity 19 Oct 2026. Patch Forecast updates every hour.