CVE-2026-33636

LIBPNG has ARM NEON Palette Expansion Out-of-Bounds Read on AArch64

HIGH
7.6
CVSS Score
Published: March 26, 2026 at 04:51 PM UTC
Updated: June 17, 2026 at 10:37 AM UTC
2 products affected across 2 vendorsLibpngLibpng

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Severity
HIGH7.6
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.8%
SSVC
No known exploit

Description

LIBPNG is a reference library for use in applications that read, create, and manipulate PNG (Portable Network Graphics) raster image files. In versions 1.6.36 through 1.6.55, an out-of-bounds read and write exists in libpng's ARM/AArch64 Neon-optimized palette expansion path. When expanding 8-bit paletted rows to RGB or RGBA, the Neon loop processes a final partial chunk without verifying that enough input pixels remain. Because the implementation works backward from the end of the row, the final iteration dereferences pointers before the start of the row buffer (OOB read) and writes expanded pixel data to the same underflowed positions (OOB write). This is reachable via normal decoding of attacker-controlled PNG input if Neon is enabled. Version 1.6.56 fixes the issue.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

1.6.36 ≤ v < 1.6.56
v < 1.6.56
Affected range stops below 1.6.56, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCNo known exploitNot automatablePartial impact

SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.

CVSS

7.6HIGHGitHub_M
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
NONE
User Interaction
REQUIRED
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
LOW
Integrity
LOW
Availability
HIGH
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusANALYZED
CWE
CWE-125CWE-787

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