CVE-2026-96638

A flaw was found in Pillow. When processing run-length encoded (RLE) bitmap images, the decoder fails to properly limit memory allocation for certain escape sequences and data runs. A remote attacker could exploit this flaw by supplying a specially crafted BMP image file to an application, causing excessive memory consumption and resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS).

Red Hat rates this vulnerability as Moderate impact because exploitation is constrained to a denial of service via memory exhaustion, with no compromise to system confidentiality or integrity. Within Red Hat environments, Pillow is included as a supporting library across containerized platforms and automation tooling, where triggering the flaw requires an application to ingest and decode untrusted bitmap files. Systems and services that do not process untrusted image uploads or run-length encoded graphics are not exposed to this risk.

The CVSS score(s) listed for this vulnerability do not reflect the associated product's status, and are included for informational purposes to better understand the severity of this vulnerability.