CVE-2026-96642
Description
A flaw was found in Pillow. When an application processes tar archives using the TarIO component, an archive containing an invalid negative member size causes the parser to enter an infinite loop by repeatedly reading the same header. An attacker could exploit this by providing a specially crafted archive, leading to high CPU consumption and a Denial of Service (DoS).
Statement
This vulnerability is rated as Moderate impact because, while processing a crafted archive can trigger an infinite loop and complete CPU exhaustion, exploitation requires an application to explicitly invoke the TarIO helper class rather than standard image loading interfaces. Typical deployment workflows and default image parsing pathways do not utilize TarIO, significantly restricting exposure across Red Hat environments. The risk of denial of service is therefore confined to applications that directly consume untrusted archives via this specialized component.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 6.5 | 6.5 | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Network | Network | N/A |
| Attack Complexity | Low | Low | N/A |
| Privileges Required | None | None | N/A |
| User Interaction | Required | Required | N/A |
| Scope | Unchanged | Unchanged | N/A |
| Confidentiality | None | None | N/A |
| Integrity Impact | None | None | N/A |
| Availability Impact | High | High | N/A |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
NVD: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
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