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LibpngApplication

CVE-2008-1382

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v2.0 Published 2008-04-14
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
libpng 1.0.6 through 1.0.32, 1.2.0 through 1.2.26, and 1.4.0beta01 through 1.4.0beta19 allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code via a PNG file with zero length "unknown" chunks, which trigger an access of uninitialized memory.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

libpng fails to properly handle PNG files containing zero-length 'unknown' chunks, causing the library to access uninitialized memory. This memory corruption can lead to denial of service (application crash) and potentially allow arbitrary code execution if the uninitialized memory contains controllable data. The vulnerability affects multiple libpng branches (1.0.x, 1.2.x, and 1.4.0beta).

MitigationUpdate libpng to version 1.2.27, 1.4.0beta20, or later which contain the fix. Applications using vulnerable libpng versions must be rebuilt against the patched library, and any custom PNG processing code should be reviewed for similar handling of unknown chunks.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
LibpngApplication
Affected:= 1.0.6= 1.0.7= 1.0.8= 1.0.9= 1.0.10= 1.0.11= 1.0.12= 1.0.13= 1.0.14= 1.0.15= 1.0.16= 1.0.17

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Partial
Integrity
Partial
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed libpng version
    Run 'pkg-config --modversion libpng' or check the library file (e.g., libpng.so in Linux, libpng.lib in Windows) version metadata. On Linux, also check /usr/lib/libpng* files or use 'ldd' on the application to see which libpng is loaded.
    Affected if The reported version falls within 1.0.6 through 1.0.17, or is an unpatched 1.2.x or 1.4.0beta version.
  2. Verify the application uses libpng for PNG processing
    Check the application's dependencies using 'ldd' on Linux or a dependency walker on Windows. Look for libpng references. Review application code or documentation to confirm PNG file parsing is performed.
    Affected if The application links against a vulnerable libpng version and processes PNG files.
  3. Confirm PNG files from untrusted sources are processed
    Review application behavior or configuration to determine if it accepts PNG input from users, network sources, or external files that could be crafted. Look for image upload, parsing, or thumbnail generation features.
    Affected if The application processes PNG files from sources outside the trusted codebase.
  4. Check for unknown chunk handling in PNG processing path
    If source code is available, search for png_read_chunk or similar libpng chunk processing functions. Determine if the application enables or relies on handling of unknown chunk types.
    Affected if The application uses libpng's default chunk handling without filtering unknown chunks, which triggers the vulnerable code path.

A user is affected if their system has a libpng version between 1.0.6 and 1.0.17 (or an unpatched 1.2.x/1.4.0beta) AND the application processes PNG files from untrusted sources using libpng's unknown chunk handling.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update libpng to version 1.2.27, 1.4.0beta20, or later which contain the fix. Applications using vulnerable libpng versions must be rebuilt against the patched library, and any custom PNG processing code should be reviewed for similar handling of unknown chunks.

Fix this in Libpng Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2008-1382 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data