CVE-2022-22817: Pillow Arbitrary Expression Injection Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-8vj2-vxx3-667w
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CVSS 9.8
CWE-74
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2022-22817 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) arbitrary expression injection vulnerability (CWE-74: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component ('Injection')) affecting Pillow libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves arbitrary expression injection in pillow. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 9.0.1.

CVE-2022-22817 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2022-22817
GHSA Identifier GHSA-8vj2-vxx3-667w
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-74: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component ('Injection')
Affected Product Pillow
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 9.8

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:H/I:H/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 High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2022-22817

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: 9.0.1 
pip install pillow>=9.0.1
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 CVE-2022-22817, 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 9.0.1), 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-74: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component ('Injection'), where the product constructs all or part of a command, data structure, or record using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify how it is parsed or interpreted when it is sent to a downstream component. 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

`PIL.ImageMath.eval` in Pillow before 9.0.0 allows evaluation of arbitrary expressions, such as ones that use the Python exec method `ImageMath.eval("exec(exit())")`. While Pillow 9.0.0 restricted top-level builtins available to PIL.ImageMath.eval(), it did not prevent builtins available to lambda expressions. These are now also restricted in 9.0.1.

CVE-2022-22817 Affected Pillow Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
9.0.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
pillow
pypi/pillow
PyPI
< 9.0.1
9.0.1

References

NVD — CVE-2022-22817 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-22817
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/python-pillow/Pillow/commit/8531b01d6cdf0b70f256f93092caa2a5d91afc11
GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-8vj2-vxx3-667w
Pillow Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/pillow/PYSEC-2022-10.yaml
Pillow Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/python-pillow/Pillow
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce... WEB
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2022/01/msg00018.html
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce... WEB
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/03/msg00021.html
Pillow Release RELEASE
https://pillow.readthedocs.io/en/stable/releasenotes/9.0.0.html#restrict-builtins-available-to-imagemath-eval
Pillow Release RELEASE
https://pillow.readthedocs.io/en/stable/releasenotes/9.0.1.html#security
Pillow Security Information SECURITY
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202211-10
Pillow Security Information SECURITY
https://www.debian.org/security/2022/dsa-5053

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2022-22817?
CVE-2022-22817 is a security vulnerability in Pillow involving Arbitrary expression injection in Pillow under CWE-74: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component ('Injection').
Which Pillow versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 9.0.1 across affected packages: pillow.
What version fixes CVE-2022-22817?
Upgrading to 9.0.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is pillow affected?
Yes, pillow is affected in releases prior to 9.0.1. Upgrade your dependency to 9.0.1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2022-22817?
CVE-2022-22817 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2022-22817?
CVE-2022-22817 is classified under CWE-74: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component ('Injection') (The product constructs all or part of a command, data structure, or record using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify how it is parsed or interpreted when it is sent to a downstream component.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2022-22817?
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 
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  "id" : "GHSA-8vj2-vxx3-667w",
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  "published" : "2022-01-12T20:07:33Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2022-22817" ],
  "summary" : "Arbitrary expression injection in Pillow",
  "details" : "`PIL.ImageMath.eval` in Pillow before 9.0.0 allows evaluation of arbitrary expressions, such as ones that use the Python exec method `ImageMath.eval(\"exec(exit())\")`.\n\nWhile Pillow 9.0.0 restricted top-level builtins available to PIL.ImageMath.eval(), it did not prevent builtins available to lambda expressions. These are now also restricted in 9.0.1.",
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  "database_specific" : {
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    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
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}