CVE-2019-19911: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption in Pillow
Summary
CVE-2019-19911: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption in Pillow. Affects pillow versions < 6.2.2. Fixed in 6.2.2. How to fix ↓
Also tracked for
- py3-pillow · Alpine:v3.12
The same CVE-2019-19911 is tracked separately for each ecosystem and vendor. Its fix information is the same; the package and affected versions differ.
Check if this vulnerability affects your application
Upload a manifest or SBOM and we'll show whether you're affected, plus every other risky package in the same scan.
No signup required · Results in about 60 seconds
Habilume
Habit tracker with a companion that grows with you
Complete habits, earn Lume Points, and watch your Lume grow as you stay consistent.
Background
Pillow is a popular Python imaging library that provides support for opening, manipulating, and saving many different image file formats. It is widely used in various applications for image processing and manipulation. However, versions of Pillow before 6.2.2 are vulnerable to a Denial of Service (DoS) attack due to uncontrolled resource consumption. This vulnerability is caused by a flaw in the FpxImagePlugin.py module, which calls the range function on an unvalidated 32-bit integer if the number of bands is large. On Windows running 32-bit Python, this can result in an OverflowError or MemoryError due to the 2 GB limit. On Linux running 64-bit Python, this can lead to the process being terminated by the OOM (Out of Memory) killer.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability in Pillow before version 6.2.2 allows an attacker to exploit the uncontrolled resource consumption issue, resulting in a Denial of Service condition. By providing a specially crafted image file, an attacker can trigger the flaw and cause the affected application to consume excessive resources, leading to system instability or crash. This vulnerability poses a significant risk to applications that utilize Pillow for image processing, especially those running on Windows with 32-bit Python or Linux with 64-bit Python.
How To Fix
Latest published version: 13.0.0 as of 22 Oct 2026
pip install --upgrade "pillow==13.0.0"Upgrading to it may include breaking changes; the version below is the minimum fixed release for this vulnerability.
If you need the minimum change
6.2.2
This is the first release that contains the fix.
pip install --upgrade "pillow==6.2.2"Tip — Not sure which version your app runs? Vulert can match this fix to it. Scan free →
Workaround
There is no known workaround for this vulnerability. It is highly recommended to upgrade to the latest version of Pillow to mitigate the risk.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the vulnerability in Pillow before version 6.2.2 allows an attacker to exploit the uncontrolled resource consumption issue, leading to a Denial of Service condition. It is crucial for users of Pillow to upgrade to the latest version to mitigate the risk. For further support on vulnerability remediation, please contact DevNack.com.
See every vulnerability recorded for pillow →
FAQ
This vulnerability allows an attacker to cause a Denial of Service condition by exploiting the uncontrolled resource consumption issue in Pillow. This can lead to system instability or crash, affecting the availability of the affected application.
Versions of Pillow before 6.2.2 are affected by this vulnerability.
No, this vulnerability requires the attacker to provide a specially crafted image file to trigger the uncontrolled resource consumption issue. Therefore, it cannot be exploited remotely.
The only known mitigation is to upgrade to the latest version of Pillow (6.2.2 or later) that includes a fix for this vulnerability.
Yes, the CVSS score for this vulnerability is 7.5, indicating a high severity level.
Related vulnerabilities
Recent vulnerabilities recorded for pillow.
Habilume
Habit tracker with a companion that grows with you
Complete habits, earn Lume Points, and watch your Lume grow as you stay consistent.
