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Libpng CVE-2026-22801

MEDIUM
Out-of-bounds Read (CWE-125)
2026-01-12 security-advisories@github.com
6.8
CVSS 3.1 · GitHub Advisory
View

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A06:2021 - Vulnerable and Outdated Components
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Bounds checking, read limits
MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique across 1 tactic: Collection

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

Impact

CVSS 6.8 (MEDIUM). Attack vector: Local. Complexity: Low. Privileges required: None. User interaction: None. Exploitable via remote/network.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability to compromise the affected system.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).
Patch available 0.0% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Mar 12, 2026

Libpng versions 1.6.26 through 1.6.53 contain an integer truncation flaw in the simplified write API functions that triggers a heap buffer over-read when processing images with negative row strides or strides exceeding 65535 bytes. Local attackers can exploit this to read sensitive heap memory, potentially disclosing application data. No patch is currently available; users should avoid processing untrusted PNG images with these vulnerable libpng versions.

Earlier versions of this analysis (1)
v1 Mar 12, 2026 - 21:54 CVSS 6.8

LIBPNG is a reference library for use in applications that read, create, and manipulate PNG (Portable Network Graphics) raster image files. [CVSS 6.8 MEDIUM]

RemediationAI

Fixed in version 1.6.54..

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

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

Technical ContextAI · show details

Classified as CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read). Affects the libpng simplified write API component of Libpng. LIBPNG is a reference library for use in applications that read, create, and manipulate PNG (Portable Network Graphics) raster image files. From 1.6.26 to 1.6.53, there is an integer truncation in the libpng simplified write API functions png_write_image_16bit and png_write_image_8bit causes heap buffer over-read when the caller provides a negative row stride (for bottom-up image layouts) or a stride exceeding 65535 bytes. The bug was introduced in libpng 1.6.26 (October 2016) by casts added to

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

GitHub Advisory PRIMARY 6.8 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:H
SUSE MEDIUM
Red Hat 6.6 MEDIUM

Primary rating from GitHub Advisory.

CVSS VectorGitHub Advisory

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

Lifecycle Timeline

2
Patch released
Apr 09, 2026 - 20:30 nvd
Patch available
CVE Published
Jan 12, 2026 - 23:15 nvd
MEDIUM 6.8

DescriptionGitHub Advisory

LIBPNG is a reference library for use in applications that read, create, and manipulate PNG (Portable Network Graphics) raster image files. From 1.6.26 to 1.6.53, there is an integer truncation in the libpng simplified write API functions png_write_image_16bit and png_write_image_8bit causes heap buffer over-read when the caller provides a negative row stride (for bottom-up image layouts) or a stride exceeding 65535 bytes. The bug was introduced in libpng 1.6.26 (October 2016) by casts added to silence compiler warnings on 16-bit systems. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.6.54.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

Organizations using LIBPNG should be aware of notable risk from CVE-2026-22801, a out-of-bounds read vulnerability rated CVSS 6.8. Exploitation could cause memory corruption or application crashes. Organizations should apply vendor updates when available and monitor for exploitation.

Business Impact: Moderate
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch. If patching is delayed: enable ASLR/DEP, apply network segmentation.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.0%
Top 97% exploitable
Data Quality
5 sources
Confidence: Medium
NVD CVE.org EPSS Vendor GitHub VulDB

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 MEDIUM
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.0%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)
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

Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Small
Automatable· derived
No

Priority Score

34
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +34
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.

Affected Products (CPE)GitHub Advisory

cpe:2.3:a:libpng:libpng:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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An issue has been found in libpng 1.6.34. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable,

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CVE-2025-28164 MEDIUM POC
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Vendor StatusVendor

SUSE

Severity: Medium
Product Status
Container private-registry/harbor-portal:1.1.0-1.11 Container suse/manager/5.0/x86_64/server-attestation:latest Container suse/manager/5.0/x86_64/server:latest Container suse/multi-linux-manager/5.1/x86_64/server-attestation:5.1.2.8.15.2 Container suse/multi-linux-manager/5.1/x86_64/server:5.1.2.8.13.2 Image SLES15-SP6 Image SLES15-SP6-Azure-3P Image SLES15-SP6-Azure-Basic Image SLES15-SP6-Azure-Standard Image SLES15-SP6-BYOS Image SLES15-SP6-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP6-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP6-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP6-CHOST-BYOS Image SLES15-SP6-CHOST-BYOS-Aliyun Image SLES15-SP6-CHOST-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP6-CHOST-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP6-CHOST-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP6-CHOST-BYOS-GDC Image SLES15-SP6-CHOST-BYOS-SAP-CCloud Image SLES15-SP6-EC2 Image SLES15-SP6-EC2-ECS-HVM Image SLES15-SP6-GCE Image SLES15-SP6-HPC Image SLES15-SP6-HPC-Azure Image SLES15-SP6-HPC-BYOS Image SLES15-SP6-HPC-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP6-HPC-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP6-HPC-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP6-HPC-EC2 Image SLES15-SP6-HPC-GCE Image SLES15-SP6-Hardened-BYOS Image SLES15-SP6-Hardened-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP6-Hardened-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP6-Hardened-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP6-SAP-Azure-3P Image SLES15-SP6-SAP-BYOS Image SLES15-SP6-SAP-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP6-SAP-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP6-SAP-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP6-SAP-Hardened Image SLES15-SP6-SAP-Hardened-Azure Image SLES15-SP6-SAP-Hardened-BYOS Image SLES15-SP6-SAP-Hardened-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP6-SAP-Hardened-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP6-SAP-Hardened-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP6-SAP-Hardened-EC2 Image SLES15-SP6-SAP-Hardened-GCE Image SLES15-SP7-Azure-3P Image SLES15-SP7-Azure-Basic Image SLES15-SP7-Azure-Standard Image SLES15-SP7-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP7-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP7-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP7-CHOST-BYOS-Aliyun Image SLES15-SP7-CHOST-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP7-CHOST-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP7-CHOST-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP7-CHOST-BYOS-GDC Image SLES15-SP7-CHOST-BYOS-SAP-CCloud Image SLES15-SP7-EC2 Image SLES15-SP7-EC2-ECS-HVM Image SLES15-SP7-GCE Image SLES15-SP7-GCE-3P Image SLES15-SP7-HPC-Azure Image SLES15-SP7-HPC-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP7-HPC-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP7-HPC-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP7-Hardened-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP7-Hardened-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP7-Hardened-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP7-SAP-Azure Image SLES15-SP7-SAP-Azure-3P Image SLES15-SP7-SAP-Azure-LI-BYOS-Production Image SLES15-SP7-SAP-Azure-VLI-BYOS-Production Image SLES15-SP7-SAP-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP7-SAP-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP7-SAP-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP7-SAP-EC2 Image SLES15-SP7-SAP-GCE Image SLES15-SP7-SAP-GCE-3P Image SLES15-SP7-SAP-Hardened-Azure Image SLES15-SP7-SAP-Hardened-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP7-SAP-Hardened-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP7-SAP-Hardened-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP7-SAP-Hardened-GCE Image server-attestation-image Image server-image Affected
Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/base-os-container:2.1.3-7.96 Image SL-Micro Affected
Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/toolbox:latest Affected
Container suse/sl-micro/6.1/baremetal-os-container:2.2.1-7.2 Container suse/sl-micro/6.1/kvm-os-container:2.2.1-5.4 Container suse/sl-micro/6.1/rt-os-container:2.2.1-5.7 Image SL-Micro-Azure Image SL-Micro-BYOS-Azure Image SL-Micro-BYOS-EC2 Image SL-Micro-BYOS-GCE Image SUSE-Multi-Linux-Manager-Proxy-BYOS-Azure Image SUSE-Multi-Linux-Manager-Proxy-BYOS-GCE Image SUSE-Multi-Linux-Manager-Server-Azure-llc Image SUSE-Multi-Linux-Manager-Server-BYOS-Azure Image SUSE-Multi-Linux-Manager-Server-BYOS-GCE Affected
Container suse/sl-micro/6.1/base-os-container:2.2.1-5.27 Image SL-Micro-EC2 Image SUSE-Multi-Linux-Manager-Proxy-BYOS-EC2 Image SUSE-Multi-Linux-Manager-Server-Azure-ltd Image SUSE-Multi-Linux-Manager-Server-BYOS-EC2 Image SUSE-Multi-Linux-Manager-Server-EC2-llc Image SUSE-Multi-Linux-Manager-Server-EC2-ltd Affected

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