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GHSA-vjc4-5qp5-m44j: Pillow JPEG2000 tiled decode retains a growing scratch buffer and can be used for denial of service

highCVE-2026-59204
Summary src/libImaging/Jpeg2KDecode.c:853 accumulates total_component_width across every tile in a JPEG2000 image instead of recomputing it per tile. That accumulated value is then used in the tile_bytes calculation at src/libImaging/Jpeg2KDecode.c:868, which can make the decoder grow state->buffer via realloc at src/libImaging/Jpeg2KDecode.c:876 up to roughly one full image's decompressed size even when each tile is small. A crafted tiled JPEG2000 file can therefore force substantially higher transient memory usage and trigger out-of-memory failures during decoding. Based on current evidence, the supported impact is denial of service, not memory corruption. Details - Location: src/libImaging/Jpeg2KDecode.c:853 - Root cause: total_component_width is initialized only once before the tile loop and keeps growing across tiles. It is then used to derive tile_bytes, so later tiles are treated as if they had the combined component width of all earlier tiles. - Dangerous operation: tile_bytes is promoted into tile_info.data_size, then state->buffer is grown with realloc at src/libImaging/Jpeg2KDecode.c:876. - Reachability: any attacker-controlled JPEG2000 image with many tiles reaches this path during normal Image.open(...).load() decoding. PoC The attached helper script and testcase were used: exercise_j2k_tile_realloc.zip Generate the testcase: pythonexercise_j2k_tile_realloc.py make poc_3664_rgba_tile1832.jp2 \ --size 3664 --tile 1832 Expected geometry from the helper: - image size: 3664 x 3664 - mode: RGBA - tile size: 1832 x 1832 (2x2 tiles) - image_bytes=53699584 - uncapped RSS observed: - vulnerable build: maxrss_kb=180264 - fixed comparison build: maxrss_kb=138404 Load it with the current vulnerable build: python exercise_j2k_tile_realloc.py load poc_3664_rgba_tile1832.jp2 Load it again under a 160 MB address-space cap: python exercise_j2k_tile_realloc.py load poc_3664_rgba_tile1832.jp2 --limit-mb 160 Impact Conservative impact: denial of service through

Details

Source
GitHub Security Advisories (INTL · database · site)
Severity
high
Published
2026-07-20
Last updated
2026-07-20
Exploitation
Not in CISA KEV at last sync

Original advisory: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-vjc4-5qp5-m44j

Exploitation outlook

EPSS (FIRST.org) estimates each CVE’s probability of exploitation in the next 30 days — here is the CSIRTS.com read on those numbers.

Referenced CVEs

CVECSIRTS overviewExternal
CVE-2026-59204coverage & exploitation statusNVD · CVE.org

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