Denial of Service Vulnerability in Pillow Python Imaging Library
CVE-2026-96642

7.1HIGH

Key Information:

Vendor

Python-pillow

Status
Pillow
Vendor
CVE Published:
21 October 2026

What is CVE-2026-96642?

The Pillow Python imaging library contains a vulnerability in its TarIO initializer that can be exploited to cause a denial of service. Specifically, when the TarIO initializer processes negative octal member sizes, it can lead to excessive CPU consumption. This occurs when the requested member name does not match, causing the parser to continually read the same 512-byte header without returning. Applications that directly access PIL.TarIO.TarIO are susceptible, leading to potential blocking of resources. This issue has been resolved in version 13.0.0.

Affected Version(s)

Pillow < 13.0.0

References

https://github.com/python-pillow/Pillow/security/advisori...
x_refsource_CONFIRM
https://github.com/python-pillow/Pillow/pull/10012
x_refsource_MISC
https://github.com/python-pillow/Pillow/commit/19b695fdcc...
x_refsource_MISC

CVSS V4

Score:
7.1
Severity:
HIGH
Confidentiality:
None
Integrity:
None
Availability:
High
Attack Vector:
Network
Attack Complexity:
Low
Attack Required:
None
Privileges Required:
Undefined
User Interaction:
Unknown

Timeline

  • Vulnerability published

  • Vulnerability Reserved

.