Pillow: PDF Parsing Trailer Infinite Loop (DoS)
Priority LOW 22CWE-835Published · Updated
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Attack requirements
- None
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · Low
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 2 fixed, 7 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA, GitHub and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-835.
Summary
Pillow is a Python imaging library. From version 4.2.0 to before version 12.2.0, an attacker can supply a malicious PDF that causes the process to hang indefinitely, consuming 100% CPU and making the application unresponsive. This issue has been patched in version 12.2.0.
Why it matters now
Exploitation None reported CISA SSVC · not in CISA KEV
EPSS 0.00171 6th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Partial Pillow (python-pillow): 12.2.0pillow (PyPI): 12.2.0Red Hat: 4 advisoriesRed Hat: 2 fixed, 7 without a fix
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| python-pillow | Pillow | 4.2.0 to before 12.2.0 | 12.2.0 | Patch available | CNA |
| — | pillow (PyPI) | 4.2.0 to before 12.2.0 | 12.2.0 | Patch available | GHSA-r73j-pqj5-w3x7 |
- Pillow Vendorpython-pillow Affected 4.2.0 to before 12.2.0 Fixed in 12.2.0 Patch available CNA
- pillow (PyPI) Vendor— Affected 4.2.0 to before 12.2.0 Fixed in 12.2.0 Patch available GHSA-r73j-pqj5-w3x7
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:python:pillow:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 4.2.0 to before 12.2.0 | Vulnerable | python-pillow |
- cpe:2.3:a:python:pillow:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 4.2.0 to before 12.2.0 Vulnerable ·python-pillow
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Pillow (python-pillow) Fixed in 12.2.0
- Fix · GHSA-r73j-pqj5-w3x7 pillow (PyPI) Fixed in 12.2.0 Advisory →
Red Hat 4 advisories
- RHSA-2026:57387 Released 2026-08-20 · Red Hat rating ImportantRed Hat AI Inference 3.4.4 (spyre)
- Red Hat AI Inference Server 3.4 registry.redhat.io/rhaii/vllm-spyre-rhel9
- RHSA-2026:16030 Released 2026-05-11 · Red Hat rating ImportantRed Hat AI Inference Server 3.3.3 (CUDA)
- Red Hat AI Inference Server 3.3 registry.redhat.io/rhaiis/vllm-cuda-rhel9
- RHSA-2026:16009 Released 2026-05-11 · Red Hat rating ImportantRed Hat AI Inference Server 3.3.3 (ROCm)
- Red Hat AI Inference Server 3.3 registry.redhat.io/rhaiis/vllm-rocm-rhel9
Show 1 more Red Hat advisories
- RHSA-2026:16008 Released 2026-05-11 · Red Hat rating ImportantRed Hat AI Inference Server Model Optimization Tools 3.3.3 (CUDA)
- Red Hat AI Inference Server 3.3 registry.redhat.io/rhaiis/model-opt-cuda-rhel9
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Exploit Intelligence | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| OpenShift Lightspeed | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat AI Inference Server | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AI (RHEL AI) 3 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI) | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Quay 3 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat AI Inference Server 3.3 | Fixed | RHSA-2026:16008, RHSA-2026:16009, RHSA-2026:16030 |
| Red Hat AI Inference Server 3.4 | Fixed | RHSA-2026:57387 |
Not affected: 2 products
- Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2
- Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI)
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-42310
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-r73j-pqj5-w3x7
References
Patch 3
More python-pillow Pillow vulnerabilities
- TI-2026-76627 Out-of-bounds read in Pillow TIFF encoder ColorMap handling CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.8
- TI-2026-76625 Quadratic-time denial of service in Pillow PDF save_all CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
- TI-2026-76605 NULL pointer dereference in Pillow's Image.merge function CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
- TI-2026-76604 Out-of-bounds read in Pillow TIFF decoding leaks heap memory CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.8
- TI-2026-76602 Double free in Pillow ImagingScaleAffine on allocation failure CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
- TI-2026-76600 GIF seek in Pillow keeps rejected size, allowing denial of service CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
Sources
- CVE-2026-42310 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-42310 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-r73j-pqj5-w3x7 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-42310 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences