Critical Flaw in Python’s Popular Pillow Image Library Allows Code Execution via a Crafted Image
Critical code execution flaw in Python's Pillow library affects versions 2.6.0 to 12.3.0.
A critical vulnerability (CVE-2026-112900) in the widely used Python Pillow image library allows for operating system command execution through specially crafted EPS image filenames. The flaw, present in versions 2.6.0 through 12.3.0, is triggered when Pillow passes filenames to the Ghostscript interpreter without proper validation. Pillow maintainers have released version 13.0.0 to address this and other critical security issues.
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The lesson from this incident
Full lessonA critical vulnerability in Python's Pillow image library (CVE-2026-112900) allowed attackers to execute arbitrary operating system commands by passing specially crafted EPS image filenames to the Ghostscript interpreter without proper input validation. The flaw affected a decade's worth of releases (versions 2.6.0 through 12.3.0), meaning countless applications built on Pillow were silently exposed. This matters because Pillow is a foundational dependency used across web applications, data pipelines, and machine learning workflows, making the blast radius exceptionally large. The fix — upgrading to version 13.0.0 — was available, yet any organization without a mature dependency-tracking and patching process would remain vulnerable.
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Indicators of Compromise
Extracted by AI from the linked source. Not reviewed by an editor. How this works
- cve — CVE-2026-112900
- cve — CVE-2026-112403
- cve — CVE-2026-112393