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Pillow CVE-2021-25289

CRITICAL
Out-of-bounds Write (CWE-787)
2021-03-19 cve@mitre.org
9.8
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
View

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Bounds checking, write limits
MITRE ATT&CK

2 techniques across 2 tactics: Execution, Privilege Escalation

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Impact

CVSS score of 9.8 (CRITICAL). Attack characteristics: network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction not required.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A remote attacker could write data beyond allocated buffer boundaries leading to code execution or crashes by sending crafted requests to the affected application. No authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Why: CRITICAL severity.
Patch available 2.3% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

An issue was discovered in Pillow before 8.1.1. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.

RemediationAI

No vendor patch is available at time of analysis. Monitor vendor advisories for updates. Validate write boundaries, use memory-safe languages, enable compiler protections (ASLR, stack canaries).

Affected Packages

pypi pillow fix: 8.1.1

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 1 package in pypi

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified as Out-of-bounds Write (CWE-787), which allows attackers to write data beyond allocated buffer boundaries leading to code execution or crashes. An issue was discovered in Pillow before 8.1.1. TiffDecode has a heap-based buffer overflow when decoding crafted YCbCr files because of certain interpretation conflicts with LibTIFF in RGBA mode. NOTE: this issue exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2020-35654. Affected products include: Python Pillow. Version information: before 8.1.1..

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 9.8 CRITICAL
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

DescriptionNVD

An issue was discovered in Pillow before 8.1.1. TiffDecode has a heap-based buffer overflow when decoding crafted YCbCr files because of certain interpretation conflicts with LibTIFF in RGBA mode. NOTE: this issue exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2020-35654.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
2.3%
Top 19% exploitable
Data Quality
2 sources
Confidence: Low

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity CRITICAL
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 2.3%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
CRITICAL severity
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable· derived
Yes
Human Impact· derived
Medium

Priority Score

51
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: +2
CVSS: +49
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

A buffer overflow occurs when a program writes more data to a memory buffer than it was allocated to hold, causing the excess data to spill into adjacent memory regions.

Memory corruption occurs when a program writes data beyond the boundaries of allocated memory regions or accesses memory in unintended ways, violating the integrity of the process's address space.

Affected Products (CPE)NVD

cpe:2.3:a:python:pillow:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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