CVE-2026-8814
Improper Handling of Highly Compressed Data in ExifReader
Publication date: 2026-05-19
Last updated on: 2026-05-19
Assigner: Snyk
Description
Description
CVSS Scores
EPSS Scores
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Meta Information
Affected Vendors & Products
| Vendor | Product | Version / Range |
|---|---|---|
| mattiasw | exifreader | to 4.39.0 (exc) |
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
| CWE ID | Description |
|---|---|
| CWE-409 | The product does not handle or incorrectly handles a compressed input with a very high compression ratio that produces a large output. |
Attack-Flow Graph
AI Powered Q&A
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?
This vulnerability affects versions of the exifreader package before 4.39.0. It involves improper handling of highly compressed data, specifically in PNG files containing zTXt metadata chunks. The package decompresses this metadata without enforcing a maximum decompressed output size, which can lead to data amplification.
When asynchronous parsing is enabled, a specially crafted PNG file with a highly compressed zTXt chunk can cause ExifReader to create an excessively large Comment value in memory, potentially leading to resource exhaustion.
How can this vulnerability impact me? :
The vulnerability can cause the exifreader package to consume a disproportionately large amount of memory when processing crafted PNG files. This data amplification can lead to resource exhaustion, which may result in application slowdowns, crashes, or denial of service.
How can this vulnerability be detected on my network or system? Can you suggest some commands?
Detection of this vulnerability involves identifying if your applications use the exifreader package with a version before 4.39.0, which is vulnerable to improper handling of highly compressed PNG zTXt metadata.
You can scan your project dependencies to check the version of exifreader in use. For example, if you are using npm, you can run the following command to check the installed version:
- npm list exifreader
If you want to check for vulnerable versions across your codebase or dependencies, tools like Snyk can analyze your application and detect usage of vulnerable packages.
Currently, there are no specific network commands or signatures mentioned to detect exploitation attempts of this vulnerability.
What immediate steps should I take to mitigate this vulnerability?
The primary mitigation step is to upgrade the exifreader package to version 4.39.0 or later, where the vulnerability has been addressed.
Additionally, the package has introduced a maxDecompressedSize option to limit the size of decompressed metadata blocks, which can help prevent data amplification attacks.
If upgrading immediately is not possible, consider disabling asynchronous parsing or avoid processing untrusted PNG files containing zTXt chunks.
How does this vulnerability affect compliance with common standards and regulations (like GDPR, HIPAA)?:
The provided information does not specify how the vulnerability in exifreader affects compliance with common standards and regulations such as GDPR or HIPAA.