CVE-2026-96638

Pillow: BMP RLE decoder memory-amplification DoS via unbounded delta escape / absolute mode

Published Oct 21, 2026 CVSS 3.1 · 6.5 Medium EPSS < 1% KEV · Not listed
Description
Pillow is a Python imaging library. From 9.1.0 until 13.0.0, BmpRleDecoder.decode() in src/PIL/BmpImagePlugin.py permits crafted RLE BMP delta escapes and absolute-mode runs to append beyond the remaining dest_length without a per-branch cap. A delta can add roughly 255 image rows in one iteration, so a kilobyte-sized file with a large but permitted width can expand the data bytearray to hundreds of megabytes or more, causing memory-exhaustion denial of service. This issue is fixed in version 13.0.0.

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record

Tracking

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Advisories

Source ID Title
Github GHSA Github GHSA GHSA-24rc-8hj2-v98c Pillow: BMP RLE decoder memory-amplification DoS via unbounded delta escape / absolute mode
History
Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Python
Python pillow
CPEs cpe:2.3:a:python:pillow:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Python
Python pillow
Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Python-pillow
Python-pillow pillow
Vendors & Products Python-pillow
Python-pillow pillow
Type Values Removed Values Added
Description Pillow is a Python imaging library. From 9.1.0 until 13.0.0, BmpRleDecoder.decode() in src/PIL/BmpImagePlugin.py permits crafted RLE BMP delta escapes and absolute-mode runs to append beyond the remaining dest_length without a per-branch cap. A delta can add roughly 255 image rows in one iteration, so a kilobyte-sized file with a large but permitted width can expand the data bytearray to hundreds of megabytes or more, causing memory-exhaustion denial of service. This issue is fixed in version 13.0.0.
Title Pillow: BMP RLE decoder memory-amplification DoS via unbounded delta escape / absolute mode
Weaknesses CWE-400
CWE-770
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 6.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

Weaknesses

Sources

Status
PUBLISHED
Assigner
GitHub_M
Published
Updated
Oct 28, 2026, 6:21 PM
Reserved
Sep 23, 2026, 2:35 PM
Status
Analyzed
Published
Oct 21, 2026, 9:20 PM
Modified
Oct 28, 2026, 7:19 PM
Severity
Moderate
Public date
Oct 21, 2026, 8:47 PM