Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-22695

Memory Safety in Libpng 1.6.51 – 1.6.54

Public PoCMemory Safety
Published
12 January 2026
Modified
21 January 2026
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 6.1
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0018 7th percentile
Risk Priority 45 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-22695 is a medium-severity Out-of-bounds Read (CWE-125) vulnerability in Libpng Libpng. Its CVSS base score is 6.1 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 7th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SA-8 (Security and Privacy Engineering Principles) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

CVE-2026-22695 is a heap buffer over-read vulnerability in the libpng library, a reference implementation for reading, creating, and manipulating PNG raster image files. The issue affects versions 1.6.51 through 1.6.53 and occurs in the simplified API function png_image_finish_read when processing interlaced 16-bit PNG images with an 8-bit output format and non-minimal row stride. This flaw represents a regression introduced by the fix for CVE-2025-65018 and is classified under CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read), with a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.1.

An attacker with local access can exploit this vulnerability by supplying a specially crafted PNG image, requiring low attack complexity and user interaction, such as convincing a user to process the malicious file through an application linked to the affected libpng versions. No privileges are needed. Successful exploitation results in low confidentiality impact, such as limited data disclosure from the heap, and high availability impact, potentially causing application crashes or denial of service.

The libpng project addressed this vulnerability in version 1.6.54, as detailed in the associated GitHub security advisory (GHSA-mmq5-27w3-rxpp), issue tracker (#778), and fix commits (218612ddd6b17944e21eda56caf8b4bf7779d1ea and e4f7ad4ea2). Security practitioners should prioritize updating dependent applications and libraries to libpng 1.6.54 or later to mitigate the risk.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

LIBPNG is a reference library for use in applications that read, create, and manipulate PNG (Portable Network Graphics) raster image files. From 1.6.51 to 1.6.53, there is a heap buffer over-read in the libpng simplified API function png_image_finish_read when processing…

more

interlaced 16-bit PNGs with 8-bit output format and non-minimal row stride. This is a regression introduced by the fix for CVE-2025-65018. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.6.54.

CWE(s)
CWE-125

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
attack.mitre.org →
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
attack.mitre.org →
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1211 Exploitation for Stealth Stealth
Adversaries may exploit vulnerabilities to evade detection by hiding activity, suppressing logging, or operating within trusted or unmonitored components.
attack.mitre.org →
T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access Credential Access
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to collect credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-66293Same product: Libpng Libpng
CVE-2025-64720Same product: Libpng Libpng
CVE-2025-64505Same product: Libpng Libpng
CVE-2025-64506Same product: Libpng Libpng
CVE-2026-22801Same product: Libpng Libpng
CVE-2026-33636Same product: Libpng Libpng
CVE-2026-25646Same product: Libpng Libpng
CVE-2025-65018Same product: Libpng Libpng
CVE-2025-28162Same product: Libpng Libpng
CVE-2026-33416Same product: Libpng Libpng

Affected Assets

libpng
libpng
1.6.51 — 1.6.54

Mitigating Controls

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SA-11 Developer Testing and Evaluation good match

Developer testing and evaluation directly finds out-of-bounds read flaws through static analysis, fuzzing, and dynamic bounds checks.

SA-8 Security and Privacy Engineering Principles partial match

Secure engineering principles require bounds checking and memory-safe constructs that stop out-of-bounds reads from being introduced.

SC-39 Process Isolation partial match

Process isolation confines the effects of an out-of-bounds read to the compromised process.

SI-10 Information Input Validation partial match

Input validation rejects malformed indices or lengths that would otherwise cause reads outside buffer bounds.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure-development practices such as bounds checking and memory-safe languages directly prevent out-of-bounds reads.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability scanning and recording can discover instances of out-of-bounds reads after code is deployed.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Routine patching replaces vulnerable code containing out-of-bounds read flaws.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing in development and acceptance includes fuzzing and static analysis that detect out-of-bounds read defects before release.

A.8.15 Logging partial match
finds

Logging can record evidence of an out-of-bounds read but does not prevent the weakness itself.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development life cycle mandates input validation and bounds checking that directly prevent out-of-bounds reads.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements include explicit bounds and memory-safety specifications that mitigate buffer over-reads.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure system architecture and engineering principles require memory-safe design patterns and runtime protections against out-of-bounds access.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe pointer arithmetic and mandate bounds-checked reads, eliminating CWE-125.

References