VulnerabilityPublished 27 Jan 2026Updated 28 Jan 2026

CVE-2025-28164: libpng · CVE-2025-28164 is a medium severity buffer overflow

Affects libpngSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.5 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.5Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 5% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Attack Vector: Local
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: None
Availability: High

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Local: The vulnerable component is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either: the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or remotely (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., tricking a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 27 Jan 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
GitHubpnggroup/libpng`pkg:github/pnggroup/libpng`Other threats	Affected >=1.6.43 <=1.6.46	Fixed in–

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

Monitor official libpng project channels and vendor advisories for patches addressing CVE-2025-28164 and apply updates promptly once available.
Until patches are released, restrict local access to systems running vulnerable libpng versions to trusted users only, minimizing the risk of local exploitation.
Employ application whitelisting and endpoint protection solutions to detect and prevent execution of untrusted or malicious code that could exploit this vulnerability.
Conduct internal audits to identify all instances of libpng usage across software and systems, including embedded devices, to assess exposure.
Implement strict user privilege management to limit the ability of low-privilege users to execute or trigger vulnerable code paths.
Use sandboxing or containerization for applications processing untrusted PNG files to contain potential crashes and prevent system-wide impact.
Incorporate fuzz testing and static code analysis in development pipelines to detect similar buffer overflow issues proactively.
Educate IT and security teams about the vulnerability to ensure rapid response and mitigation in case of exploitation attempts.

Description

CVE-2025-28164 is a medium severity buffer overflow vulnerability in libpng versions 1.6.43 through 1.6.46. It allows a local attacker with low privileges to cause a denial of service by exploiting the png_create_read_struct() function. The vulnerability does not impact confidentiality or integrity but can disrupt availability by crashing applications that process PNG images. Exploitation requires local access and no user interaction is needed. No known public exploits exist yet, and no patches have been linked. European organizations using affected libpng versions in local image processing or software relying on libpng could face service interruptions.

Impact

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2025-28164 is on availability. Systems and applications that utilize the vulnerable libpng versions for PNG image processing could experience crashes or denial of service conditions when processing crafted or malformed PNG files locally. This could affect desktop applications, image processing tools, content management systems, or any software embedding libpng. While the vulnerability does not compromise confidentiality or integrity, service disruptions could impact business operations, especially in sectors relying heavily on image processing such as media, publishing, design, and software development. The requirement for local access reduces the risk of widespread remote attacks but increases the importance of internal security controls to prevent unauthorized local access. Organizations with large user bases or shared environments (e.g., terminal servers, developer workstations) may face higher risk if attackers can leverage this vulnerability to cause denial of service. The absence of known exploits in the wild currently limits immediate risk, but the medium severity score warrants timely attention to prevent potential future exploitation. European organizations should also consider the impact on embedded systems or specialized industrial applications that use libpng internally.

CWE-120Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input ('Classic Buffer Overflow') (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #11
The product copies an input buffer to an output buffer without verifying that the size of the input buffer is less than the size of the output buffer.
Requirements · Language Selection
Use a language that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
Architecture and Design · Libraries or Frameworks
Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
Operation · Build and Compilation · Environment Hardening
Use automatic buffer overflow detection mechanisms that are offered by certain compilers or compiler extensions. Examples include: the Microsoft Visual Studio /GS flag, Fedora/Red Hat FORTIFY_SOURCE GCC flag, StackGuard, and ProPolice, which provide various mechanisms including canary-based detection and range/index…
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Docker Security (opens in a new tab)
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V5.4.1 (opens in a new tab)
V14.1.2 (opens in a new tab)
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Buffer Overflow via Environment Variables (opens in a new tab)
Overflow Buffers (opens in a new tab)
Client-side Injection-induced Buffer Overflow (opens in a new tab)
Filter Failure through Buffer Overflow (opens in a new tab)
MIME Conversion (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 4 Feb 2026, 09:21 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-120

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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