CVE-2025-28164Public exploit

Local utility crash via skipped error cleanup

Published Jan 27, 2026 · Updated Jan 27, 2026

A memory leak in libpng's pngimage utility 1.6.43 through 1.6.46 allows local users to crash the utility with a malformed PNG file. The utility's invalid-file error path returns without calling display_clean and display_destroy, leaving read and information-structure allocations unreleased. The defect is confined to pngimage error handling rather than the core decoder, and the demonstrated termination occurs under AddressSanitizer.

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

A memory leak in libpng's pngimage utility 1.6.43 through 1.6.46 allows local users to crash the utility with a malformed PNG file. The utility's invalid-file error path returns without calling display_clean and display_destroy, leaving read and information-structure allocations unreleased. The defect is confined to pngimage error handling rather than the core decoder, and the demonstrated termination occurs under AddressSanitizer.

The record

CVE
CVE-2025-28164
Published
Jan 27, 2026
Updated
Jan 27, 2026
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-120, CWE-401, T1499.004
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 exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-120Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input ('Classic Buffer Overflow')
CWE-401Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

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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