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NVD / CVE Program· CNA GitHub_M

CVE-2026-42309: Pillow: Heap buffer overflow with nested list coordinates

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 20/100)

  • The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.13% (FIRST EPSS).
  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it. No account or password is required. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • Fixed version: python-pillow Pillow 12.2.0.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to python-pillow Pillow 12.2.0 or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

Pillow is a Python imaging library. From version 11.2.1 to before version 12.2.0, passing nested lists as coordinates to APIs that accept coordinates such as ImagePath.Path, ImageDraw.ImageDraw.polygon and ImageDraw.ImageDraw.line could cause a heap buffer overflow, as nested lists were recursively unpacked beyond the allocated buffer. Coordinate lists are now validated to contain exactly two numeric coordinates. This issue has been patched in version 12.2.0.

MediumCVSS 5.1 · v4.0—No exploit Fix available
Published
May 9, 2026
Updated
Jul 24, 2026
EPSS
0.1% · 2th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

20

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
20 / 40 · 5.1 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.1%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
none
Automatable
no
Technical impact
partial

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
—
CNA · GitHub_M
5.1
NVD has not scored this yet; the score shown is the CNA’s.

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

The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.

Get told when this record changes

  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • No public exploit code on record
  • A fix has been released

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

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When you'll hear from us

  • when it enters CISA KEV
  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

VendorProduct
pythonpillow

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • python pillow11.2.1 and later · before 12.2.0

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (GitHub_M). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • python-pillow Pillow

    • >= 11.2.1, < 12.2.0affected

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Debian:14pillowbefore 12.2.0-112.2.0-1
PyPIpillowfrom 11.2.1 · before 12.2.012.2.0

Same product

python: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2014-3007Python Image Library (PIL) 1.1.7 and earlier and Pillow 2.3 might allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via shell…
    43Plan
  • CVE-2016-4009Integer overflow in the ImagingResampleHorizontal function in libImaging/Resample.c in Pillow before 3.1.1 allows remote attackers to have…
    41Plan
  • CVE-2022-30595libImaging/TgaRleDecode.c in Pillow 9.1.0 has a heap buffer overflow in the processing of invalid TGA image files.
    40Plan

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2026-40192Apr 15, 2026 · Pillow is vulnerable to a FITS GZIP decompression bomb
    34Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2026-42308May 9, 2026 · Pillow: Integer overflow when processing fonts
    20Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2026-42310May 9, 2026 · Pillow: PDF Parsing Trailer Infinite Loop (DoS)
    20Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
python-pillow Pillow12.2.0 · descriptionVendor (CNA)
debian:pillow12.2.0-1 · Debian:14Package registry (OSV)
PyPI:pillow12.2.0Package registry (OSV)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

No history yet (it accumulates with the daily EPSS job).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

  • CVE-2026-112393163 days apartPillow: Heap buffer overflow in _tiffWriteProc when saving TIFF to BytesIO
    36Monitor
  • CVE-2026-112398163 days apartPillow: Heap buffer overflow in FlashPix (FPX) JPEG decoding leads to code execution
    36Monitor
  • CVE-2026-112403163 days apartPillow: Heap buffer overflow in ImagingJpegDecode
    36Monitor
  • CVE-2026-112395163 days apartPillow tiled-TIFF decoder reads past tile buffer in copy4 (Unpack.c:1290)
    32Monitor
  • CVE-2025-48379312 days apartPillow Vulnerable to Write Buffer Overflow on BCn encoding
    22Monitor

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
  • No account or password is required.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
Integrity
Availability
Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
X

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-122 · Heap-based Buffer Overflow

CVSS vector

CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

nvd-secondary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

ATT&CK techniques

—

Change log

  1. Fix✗ → ✓

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References

Show all references (1 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records