CVE-2025-28162

Local process hang via unreleased image allocations

Published Jan 27, 2026 · Updated Jan 27, 2026

Memory leaks in libpng 1.6.43 through 1.6.46 allow local users to hang the pngimage test program through repeated image processing. The read_png path creates read and information structures whose png_malloc_base and zlib-backed allocations remain unreleased after processing. The demonstrated impact requires local execution of the ASan-instrumented pngimage test utility and is limited to resource exhaustion and a process hang.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.15%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Memory leaks in libpng 1.6.43 through 1.6.46 allow local users to hang the pngimage test program through repeated image processing. The read_png path creates read and information structures whose png_malloc_base and zlib-backed allocations remain unreleased after processing. The demonstrated impact requires local execution of the ASan-instrumented pngimage test utility and is limited to resource exhaustion and a process hang.

The record

CVE
CVE-2025-28162
Published
Jan 27, 2026
Updated
Jan 27, 2026
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-120, T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jan 27, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Jan 27, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

5.5CISA-ADPCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-120Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input ('Classic Buffer Overflow')
T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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