GHSA-jgpv-4h4c-xhw3: Pillow Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

MODERATE
Share
CVSS 7.5
CWE-400
Published
Advisory Summary

GHSA-jgpv-4h4c-xhw3 is a MODERATE (CVSS 7.5) remote code execution vulnerability (CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption) affecting Pillow libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves uncontrolled resource consumption in pillow. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 8.1.2.

GHSA-jgpv-4h4c-xhw3 at a Glance

CVE Identifier N/A
GHSA Identifier GHSA-jgpv-4h4c-xhw3
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
Affected Product Pillow
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.5

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality None (C:N)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix GHSA-jgpv-4h4c-xhw3

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Pillow dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

pillow fixed: 8.1.2 
pip install pillow>=8.1.2
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

pip show pillow

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by GHSA-jgpv-4h4c-xhw3, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show pillow

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Pillow in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 8.1.2), your application is affected.

Note: The pip show pillow command checks currently installed packages in your active Python environment.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption, where the product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource. In Pillow, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

### Impact _Pillow before 8.1.1 allows attackers to cause a denial of service (memory consumption) because the reported size of a contained image is not properly checked for a BLP container, and thus an attempted memory allocation can be very large._ ### Patches _An issue was discovered in Pillow before 6.2.0. When reading specially crafted invalid image files, the library can either allocate very large amounts of memory or take an extremely long period of time to process the image._ ### Workarounds _An issue was discovered in Pillow before 6.2.0. When reading specially crafted invalid image files, the library can either allocate very large amounts of memory or take an extremely long period of time to process the image._ ### References https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-27921 ### For more information If you have any questions or comments about this advisory: * Open an issue in [example link to repo](http://example.com) * Email us at [example email address](mailto:example@example.com)

GHSA-jgpv-4h4c-xhw3 Affected Pillow Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
8.1.2
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
pillow
pypi/pillow
PyPI
< 8.1.2
8.1.2

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/calix2/pyVulApp/security/advisories/GHSA-jgpv-4h4c-xhw3

Frequently Asked Questions

What is GHSA-jgpv-4h4c-xhw3?
GHSA-jgpv-4h4c-xhw3 is a security vulnerability in Pillow involving Uncontrolled Resource Consumption in pillow under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption.
Which Pillow versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 8.1.2 across affected packages: pillow.
What version fixes GHSA-jgpv-4h4c-xhw3?
Upgrading to 8.1.2 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is pillow affected?
Yes, pillow is affected in releases prior to 8.1.2. Upgrade your dependency to 8.1.2 or later.
What is the CVSS score of GHSA-jgpv-4h4c-xhw3?
GHSA-jgpv-4h4c-xhw3 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
What CWE is associated with GHSA-jgpv-4h4c-xhw3?
GHSA-jgpv-4h4c-xhw3 is classified under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption (The product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for GHSA-jgpv-4h4c-xhw3?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show pillow'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-jgpv-4h4c-xhw3",
  "modified" : "2021-04-22T17:01:01Z",
  "published" : "2021-04-23T16:54:36Z",
  "aliases" : [ ],
  "summary" : "Uncontrolled Resource Consumption in pillow",
  "details" : "### Impact\n_Pillow before 8.1.1 allows attackers to cause a denial of service (memory consumption) because the reported size of a contained image is not properly checked for a BLP container, and thus an attempted memory allocation can be very large._\n\n### Patches\n_An issue was discovered in Pillow before 6.2.0. When reading specially crafted invalid image files, the library can either allocate very large amounts of memory or take an extremely long period of time to process the image._\n\n### Workarounds\n_An issue was discovered in Pillow before 6.2.0. When reading specially crafted invalid image files, the library can either allocate very large amounts of memory or take an extremely long period of time to process the image._\n\n### References\nhttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-27921\n\n### For more information\nIf you have any questions or comments about this advisory:\n* Open an issue in [example link to repo](http://example.com)\n* Email us at [example email address](mailto:example@example.com)",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "pillow"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "8.1.2"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "< 8.1.1"
    }
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/calix2/pyVulApp/security/advisories/GHSA-jgpv-4h4c-xhw3"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-400" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-04-22T17:01:01Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}