CVE-2025-9165: LibTIFF · Memory Leak
Affects LibTIFFSource CVE Database V5
Public exploit available · CVSS 2.0 Low.
Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 10:12 UTC
- EPSS
- 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 13% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:H/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:PExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 19 Aug 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: evidence found.
CVSS exploit maturity: proof of concept public
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), CVSS vector, the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.
What to do
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| LibTIFF | Affected
| Fixed in– |
AI-suggested
European organizations should apply the patch identified by commit ed141286a37f6e5ddafb5069347ff5d587e7a4e0 to LibTIFF version 4.7.0 or upgrade to a later version where this issue is resolved. Since the vulnerability is local and affects a command line tool, restricting local access to trusted users and systems is a practical control to reduce risk. Monitoring and limiting the use of the tiffcmp tool in automated scripts or batch jobs can prevent potential resource exhaustion scenarios. Additionally, organizations should implement standard memory and resource monitoring on systems running image processing tools to detect abnormal memory usage patterns. Regularly auditing software dependencies and applying security patches promptly will help maintain a secure environment. Given the low severity, prioritization can be lower compared to critical vulnerabilities but should not be ignored in routine maintenance cycles.
Description
A flaw has been found in LibTIFF 4.7.0. This affects the function _TIFFmallocExt/_TIFFCheckRealloc/TIFFHashSetNew/InitCCITTFax3 of the file tools/tiffcmp.c of the component tiffcmp. Executing manipulation can lead to memory leak. The attack is restricted to local execution. This attack is characterized by high complexity. It is indicated that the exploitability is difficult. The exploit has been published and may be used. There is ongoing doubt regarding the real existence of this vulnerability. This patch is called ed141286a37f6e5ddafb5069347ff5d587e7a4e0. It is best practice to apply a patch to resolve this issue. A researcher disputes the security impact of this issue, because "this is a memory leak on a command line tool that is about to exit anyway". In the reply the project maintainer declares this issue as "a simple 'bug' when leaving the command line tool and (...) not a security issue at all".
References
- vuldb.com (opens in a new tab)
- vuldb.com (opens in a new tab)
- vuldb.com (opens in a new tab)
- vuldb.com (opens in a new tab)
- gitlab.com/libtiff/libtiff/-/issues/728 (opens in a new tab)
- gitlab.com/libtiff/libtiff/-/merge_requests/747 (opens in a new tab)
- drive.google.com/file/d/1FWhmkzksH8-qU0ZM6seBzGNB3aPnX3G8/view?usp=sharing (opens in a new tab)
- gitlab.com/libtiff/libtiff/-/commit/ed141286a37f6e5ddafb5069347ff5d587e7a4e0 (opens in a new tab)
- libtiff.org (opens in a new tab)
- gitlab.com/libtiff/libtiff/-/issues/728 (opens in a new tab)