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PillowApplication · Python

CVE-2019-19911

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-01-05
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.2.2 or later.
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
There is a DoS vulnerability in Pillow before 6.2.2 caused by FpxImagePlugin.py calling the range function on an unvalidated 32-bit integer if the number of bands is large. On Windows running 32-bit Python, this results in an OverflowError or MemoryError due to the 2 GB limit. However, on Linux running 64-bit Python this results in the process being terminated by the OOM killer.

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

A Denial of Service vulnerability exists in Pillow versions before 6.2.2 in the FpxImagePlugin.py module. The vulnerability occurs when processing FPX image files with a specially crafted large number of bands, causing an unvalidated 32-bit integer to be passed to Python's range() function. This triggers excessive memory allocation beyond the process limits, resulting in either an OverflowError/MemoryError on 32-bit Windows Python (2GB limit) or process termination by the OOM killer on 64-bit Linux systems.

MitigationUpgrade Pillow to version 6.2.2 or later to obtain the fix that properly validates the 32-bit integer before passing it to the range() function.

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
PillowApplication
Affected:< 6.2.2
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 9.0= 10.0
FedoraOperating system
Affected:= 30
Ubuntu LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 14.04= 16.04= 18.04= 19.10

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
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

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. Check installed Pillow version
    Run 'python -c "import PIL; print(PIL.__version__)"' or 'pip show pillow' to retrieve the installed Pillow version number
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 6.2.2 (e.g., 6.2.1, 6.2.0, 6.1.0, etc.)
  2. Verify FpxImagePlugin module availability
    Run 'python -c "from PIL import FpxImagePlugin; print(FpxImagePlugin)"' to confirm the FPX image plugin can be imported
    Affected if The module imports successfully, indicating FPX image handling is enabled in the Pillow installation
  3. Confirm FPX image processing capability
    Run 'python -c "from PIL import Image; Image.open('test.fpx')"' with an FPX file to verify the parser is functional (or check if PIL can identify FPX format via 'python -c "from PIL import Image; Image.register_open('FPX', ...)"' is not needed - just verify PIL can handle the format)
    Affected if Pillow can open or process FPX format files, meaning the vulnerable code path exists in the environment
  4. Check for 32-bit Python on Windows (optional context)
    Run 'python -c "import platform; print(platform.architecture())'" to determine if running 32-bit Python on Windows
    Affected if Running 32-bit Python on Windows with Pillow < 6.2.2 makes the OverflowError condition more likely to trigger on malformed FPX files

The environment is affected if Pillow version lower than 6.2.2 is installed AND the FpxImagePlugin module is available and capable of processing FPX image files.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 6.2.2 or later
Fixed in 6.2.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Pillow to version 6.2.2 or later to obtain the fix that properly validates the 32-bit integer before passing it to the range() function.

Fix this in Pillow Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,390
Get the upgrade done

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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-2019-19911 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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