Imager versions from 0.45_02 before 1.035 for Perl read outside the EXIF block via unchecked start offsets in tiff_load_ifd
Published Sep 17, 2026 · Updated Sep 17, 2026
Imager versions from 0.45_02 before 1.035 for Perl read outside the EXIF block via unchecked start offsets in tiff_load_ifd.
Summary
What happened
Imager versions from 0.45_02 before 1.035 for Perl read outside the EXIF block via unchecked start offsets in tiff_load_ifd.
tiff_load_ifd() validates an IFD entry's data by checking that entry->offset + entry->size stays within the EXIF block, and never checks the start offset itself. Where that sum is not the real end of the data, the check passes with the entry starting outside the block.
Through 1.032 entry->offset is a plain int, so on the usual two's-complement implementations an offset with the high bit set converts to negative and the sum can land back inside the block. From 1.033 the field is a size_t and the addition wraps only where size_t is 32 bits. The IFD's own start offset is checked the same way and wraps where unsigned long is 32 bits, which includes 64-bit Windows.
Any caller of Imager->read() on an attacker-supplied image may receive EXIF tags holding bytes from outside the block, or crash the process.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-73638
- Published
- Sep 17, 2026
- Updated
- Sep 17, 2026
- Vendor
- Tony Cook
- Product
- Imager
- Classifications
- Unavailable
- Attack vector
- Unavailable
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 17, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Sep 17, 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?
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- Affected versionversion=0.45_02 <1.035
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.
Weakness, pattern, technique
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Public exploit references
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