LearnCTEM.com, Best CTEM Learning Platform
CVE Intelligence Hub

CVE-2026-59204: Python Pillow Allocation Without Limits (CVSS 8.7)

CVE-2026-59204 is a high severity allocation without limits in Python Pillow with a CVSS score of 8.7. Apply the vendor fix and confirm exposure on internet facing and business critical assets first.

Last updated: Jul 21, 2026

Quick answer

Direct answer

CVE-2026-59204 is a high severity allocation without limits in Python Pillow with a CVSS score of 8.7. Apply the vendor fix and confirm exposure on internet facing and business critical assets first.

Risk scores

CVSS base score
8.7HIGH
EPSS probability
0.39%
Higher than 31 percent of all CVEs
CISA KEV
Not listed
CVSS metricWhat it means
Attack vector (AV:N)Network: reachable remotely
Attack complexity (AC:L)Low complexity
Attack requirements (AT:N)No attack requirements
Privileges required (PR:N)No privileges required
User interaction (UI:N)No user interaction
Confidentiality (VC:N)No confidentiality impact
Integrity (VI:N)No integrity impact
Availability (VA:H)High availability impact

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

About Python Pillow

CVE-2026-59204 affects Python Pillow, a product from Python. Before acting, confirm where Python Pillow runs in your estate, who owns it and whether it is reachable from the internet, because exposure decides real risk more than the score alone.

What the flaw is

In plain terms: Pillow is a Python imaging library. From 8.2.0 through 12.2.0, src/libImaging/Jpeg2KDecode.c accumulates total_component_width across every tile in a JPEG2000 image instead of recomputing it per tile, allowing a crafted tiled JPEG2000 file to force substantially higher transient memory usage and trigger out-of-memory failures during decoding. This issue is fixed in version 12.3.0.

The weakness class is Allocation Without Limits. Resources are allocated without a cap.

Based on its CVSS vector, the flaw can be reached over the network, needs no login, and needs no user interaction. Apply the vendor fix and confirm exposure on internet facing and business critical assets first.

Affected versions and timeline

FieldDetail
ProductPython Pillow
Affected versionsPillow from 8.2.0 before 12.3.0
PublishedJul 14, 2026
Last modifiedJul 21, 2026
Added to CISA KEVNot listed
Assigning CNAsecurity-advisories@github.com

How to detect it

  • Inventory every instance of Python Pillow and record the running version against the affected range above.
  • Check external attack surface scans for internet facing instances of the component.
  • Review logs on affected systems for unusual requests, errors or new processes around the vulnerable function.
  • Confirm with an authenticated vulnerability scan once your scanner has a check for this CVE.

How to fix it

  • Apply the fixed version of Python Pillow named in the vendor advisory.
  • If patching must wait, restrict network access to the affected service and put it behind authentication or a web application firewall rule.
  • Rescan after the change to prove the exposure is gone, then close the ticket.

CTEM action plan

CTEM stageWhat to do for this CVE
ScopeAdd every business service that depends on Python Pillow to the current CTEM cycle.
DiscoverFind all instances, including shadow and cloud deployments, and record versions and exposure.
PrioritizeRank using EPSS and CVSS together with asset exposure and business impact.
ValidateConfirm the flaw is reachable and exploitable in your environment and that compensating controls work.
MobilizeAssign the fix to the asset owner with a due date matched to the priority, then verify closure.

CWE References

Technical References

Frequently asked questions

CVE-2026-59204 is a high severity allocation without limits in Python Pillow with a CVSS score of 8.7. Apply the vendor fix and confirm exposure on internet facing and business critical assets first.

Related CVEs

HIGH8.9
CVE-2026-97689
Python Urllib3

urllib3 is an HTTP client library for Python. From 1.10.3 until 2.8.0, the HTTPResponse.read_chunked and HTTPResponse.stream methods can allocate unbounded memory because the streaming chunk parser buffers the chunk-size field until newline or EOF without a length bound. The trigger is that a malicious server returns Transfer-Encoding: chunked followed by a very long run of bytes without a newline. The attack mechanism is that a malicious HTTP server sends a very long unterminated chunk-size line. The impact is that unbounded memory allocation can exhaust the client process. This issue is fixed in version 2.8.0.

Sep 29, 2026
HIGH7.6
CVE-2026-97687
Python Urllib3

urllib3 is an HTTP client library for Python. From 1.26.0 until 2.8.0, the proxy_ssl_context, proxy_assert_hostname, proxy_assert_fingerprint, ssl_context, cert_reqs, verify_mode, use_forwarding_for_https=True, and CERT_NONE configuration paths fail to remain separated because target-server TLS settings are incorrectly applied to the HTTPS proxy connection. The trigger is that an application uses an HTTPS proxy and configures target-server TLS settings that must remain separate from the proxy TLS handshake, including HTTPS forwarding with target-specific identity or credentials. Applying cert_reqs=CERT_NONE can overwrite proxy_ssl_context.verify_mode in place, and the mutation persists so later connections reusing the same context may connect to the HTTPS proxy without certificate verification. The attack mechanism is that an attacker intercepts and impersonates the HTTPS proxy after the effective proxy policy accepts the attacker's certificate. The impact is that the attacker can observe or modify forwarded traffic or receive a target TLS client certificate, while CONNECT tunneling still preserves the separate end-to-end target TLS connection. This issue is fixed in version 2.8.0.

Sep 29, 2026
HIGH8.3
CVE-2026-54058
Python Pillow

Pillow is a Python imaging library. Prior to 12.3.0, when Pillow loads an uncompressed McIdas AREA image from a filename through the mmap raw codec path, attacker-controlled header words can set a row stride smaller than the natural row width, causing pixel access such as Image.tobytes(), getpixel, convert, or save to read beyond the mapped region and disclose adjacent process memory or fault. This issue is fixed in version 12.3.0.

Jul 14, 2026
HIGH8.7
CVE-2026-15308
Python

The incremental HTML parser (html.parser.HTMLParser) allows for CPU denial-of-service through repeated unterminated markup declarations when processing uncontrolled data.

Jul 9, 2026
HIGH8.9
CVE-2026-44432
Python Urllib3

urllib3 is an HTTP client library for Python. From 2.6.0 to before 2.7.0, urllib3 could decompress the whole response instead of the requested portion (1) during the second HTTPResponse.read(amt=N) call when the response was decompressed using the official Brotli library or (2) when HTTPResponse.drain_conn() was called after the response had been read and decompressed partially (compression algorithm did not matter here). These issues could cause urllib3 to fully decode a small amount of highly compressed data in a single operation. This could result in excessive resource consumption (high CPU usage and massive memory allocation for the decompressed data) on the client side. This vulnerability is fixed in 2.7.0.

May 13, 2026
HIGH8.6
CVE-2026-42311
Python Pillow

Pillow is a Python imaging library. From version 10.3.0 to before version 12.2.0, processing a malicious PSD file could lead to memory corruption, potentially resulting in a crash or arbitrary code execution. This issue has been patched in version 12.2.0.

May 9, 2026
All Python CVEs in 2026
Your next credential

Earn your free CTEM certification.

Learn to scope, prioritize, validate and mobilize fixes for CVEs like CVE-2026-59204 with a free CTEM certification.

Free to takePublicly verifiable

Beginner / Practitioner / Program Leader

Explore certifications