CVE-2026-22801Public exploit

Heap over-read via truncated row-stride pointer arithmetic

Published Jan 12, 2026 · Updated Jan 12, 2026

Out-of-bounds read in PNG Development Group libpng 1.6.26 through 1.6.53 allows local users to over-read heap memory via row strides. The png_write_image_16bit and png_write_image_8bit paths cast signed ptrdiff_t row_bytes to 16-bit unsigned values before pointer arithmetic, reversing or truncating the offset. Exploitation requires 16-bit linear input and a negative stride or one above 65,535 bytes; the bad offset exposes adjacent heap data or leaves the write loop without forward progress.

CVSS severity6.8
Medium
EPSS probability0.13%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Out-of-bounds read in PNG Development Group libpng 1.6.26 through 1.6.53 allows local users to over-read heap memory via row strides. The png_write_image_16bit and png_write_image_8bit paths cast signed ptrdiff_t row_bytes to 16-bit unsigned values before pointer arithmetic, reversing or truncating the offset. Exploitation requires 16-bit linear input and a negative stride or one above 65,535 bytes; the bad offset exposes adjacent heap data or leaves the write loop without forward progress.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-22801
Published
Jan 12, 2026
Updated
Jan 12, 2026
Vendor
PNG Development Group
Product
libpng
Classifications
CWE-190, CWE-125, T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jan 12, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Jan 12, 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?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=< 1.6.54

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

PNG Development Group · libpngversion=< 1.6.54

Published CVSS scores

6.8GitHub, Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:H
7.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-190Integer Overflow or Wraparound
CWE-125Out-of-bounds Read
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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