VulnerabilitiesOct 23, 2026

Critical Flaw in Python’s Popular Pillow Image Library Allows Code Execution via a Crafted Image

Critical code execution flaw in Python's Pillow library affects versions 2.6.0 to 12.3.0.

Vendor Watch

Run Anthropic?

Get an email when a reviewed story names Anthropic, usually within the hour.

Free. Your list stays private and never appears in a subject line. One click stops it. How Vendor Watch works Privacy

Summary

A critical vulnerability (CVE-2026-112900) in the widely used Python Pillow image library allows for operating system command execution through specially crafted EPS image filenames. The flaw, present in versions 2.6.0 through 12.3.0, is triggered when Pillow passes filenames to the Ghostscript interpreter without proper validation. Pillow maintainers have released version 13.0.0 to address this and other critical security issues.

The lesson from this incident

Full lesson

A critical vulnerability in Python's Pillow image library (CVE-2026-112900) allowed attackers to execute arbitrary operating system commands by passing specially crafted EPS image filenames to the Ghostscript interpreter without proper input validation. The flaw affected a decade's worth of releases (versions 2.6.0 through 12.3.0), meaning countless applications built on Pillow were silently exposed. This matters because Pillow is a foundational dependency used across web applications, data pipelines, and machine learning workflows, making the blast radius exceptionally large. The fix — upgrading to version 13.0.0 — was available, yet any organization without a mature dependency-tracking and patching process would remain vulnerable.

What helps against this

How we list vendors

Vulnerability scanning and prioritisation
You know which systems are vulnerable, and which ones to fix first.
For exampleQualys VMDR Rapid7 Exposure Command (InsightVM)Tenable Vulnerability Management all options
Automated patch management
Known holes get closed in days, not months.
For exampleIvanti Neurons for Patch Management Qualys Patch Management NinjaOne Patch Management all options
Endpoint detection and response (EDR and XDR)
Malware and hands-on-keyboard attackers on laptops and servers get spotted and stopped.
For exampleSophos Endpoint Huntress Managed EDR Microsoft Defender for Endpoint all options

Indicators of Compromise

cve — CVE-2026-112900
cve — CVE-2026-112403
cve — CVE-2026-112393

Entities

Pillow (product)Python (technology)EPS images (technology)Ghostscript (product)Claude (product)Anthropic (vendor)