CVE-2026-42309: Pillow · Heap-based Buffer Overflow
Affects PillowSource CVE Database V5
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.1 Medium : upgrade to 12.2.0 when convenient.
Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 11:52 UTC
- EPSS
- 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 2% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
- Patch
- Available – fixed in 12.2.0
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:NExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 9 May 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: 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 30 Oct 2026.
What to do
Upgrade Pillow and pillow to 12.2.0.
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| python-pillowPillow | Affected
| Fixed in
|
PyPIpillowpkg:pypi/pillowOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in
|
Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.
AI-suggested
This vulnerability is patched in Pillow version 12.2.0. Users should upgrade to version 12.2.0 or later to remediate this issue. Since this is a library vulnerability, updating the dependency in your environment is the recommended action. Patch status is confirmed by the vendor's versioning and description.
Description
Pillow is a Python imaging library. From version 11.2.1 to before version 12.2.0, passing nested lists as coordinates to APIs that accept coordinates such as ImagePath.Path, ImageDraw.ImageDraw.polygon and ImageDraw.ImageDraw.line could cause a heap buffer overflow, as nested lists were recursively unpacked beyond the allocated buffer. Coordinate lists are now validated to contain exactly two numeric coordinates. This issue has been patched in version 12.2.0.