{"id":"CVE-2026-41216","kind":"vulnerability","aliases":["CVE-2026-41216"],"related":[],"title":"VTK: crafted PNG file causes invalid pointer dereference and denial of service","description":"An invalid pointer dereference vulnerability exists in the vtkPNGReader::ExecuteInformation functionality of vtk 9.6. A specially crafted .png file can lead to a denial of service. An attacker can provide a malicious file to trigger this vulnerability.","summary":"VTK 9.6's vtkPNGReader::ExecuteInformation mishandles libpng errors: a setjmp is set in a helper that has already returned, so a malformed PNG makes the error path call fclose on a garbage pointer and crash the process. Talos rates it denial of service (CVSS 7.5); no patched VTK release has been published yet.","severity":"high","cvss":7.5,"epss":null,"exploited":false,"exploited_at":null,"products":[{"name":"vtk","fixed":[],"affected":"9.6","ecosystem":"vendor"}],"ecosystems":[],"tags":["package","python","scientific-computing","vtk","vtk-9.6"],"not_affected_if":["no-png-reader-use","trusted-input-only"],"how_to_check":"- Check the VTK version: python -c \"import vtk; print(vtk.VTK_VERSION)\" (or your C++ build / package manager). Only 9.6 is confirmed vulnerable; earlier versions were not reported as tested.\n- Check whether your code opens PNGs from untrusted sources with vtkPNGReader (including via vtkImageReader2 factory / UpdateInformation).","fix":null,"status":"open","published_at":"2026-10-29T19:17:21+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-10-29T19:26:48+00:00","triaged_at":"2026-10-29T19:27:24+00:00","updated_at":"2026-10-29T19:29:35+00:00","category":"package","confidence":0.8,"triage":{"at":"2026-10-29T19:27:24Z","model":"claude-haiku-5-5","output":{"fix":"unknown","reach":"local","title":"VTK: crafted PNG file causes invalid pointer dereference and denial of service","impact":"low","summary":"VTK 9.6's PNG reader dereferences an invalid pointer when parsing a specially crafted .png file. An attacker who supplies such a file can crash the application that opens it, causing a denial of service.","audience":"developers","category":"package","nicknames":[],"who_cares":["vtk","python","scientific-computing"],"confidence":0.6,"fix_status":"unknown","needs_auth":"no","worst_case":"Application crashes when it opens a malicious PNG file","analyst_note":"Check the NVD entry and the VTK upstream repository for a fixed version and whether the flaw is reachable through network-supplied files.","how_to_check":"- Confirm the installed VTK version, for example with `python -c \"import vtk; print(vtk.VTK_VERSION)\"` or by checking the package manager listing.\n- Check whether the application loads PNG files from untrusted sources through vtkPNGReader.","plain_action":"","needs_analyst":true,"not_affected_if":["trusted-input-only","no-png-reader-use"],"who_is_affected":"Applications built on VTK 9.6 that read PNG files supplied by users or other untrusted sources through vtkPNGReader. Systems that only process trusted local images can skip it. The sources do not name a patched version.","user_interaction":"yes","needs_special_setup":"unknown","severity_if_unknown":"high"},"cost_usd":0.000674,"input_tokens":4124,"output_tokens":524,"severity_before":"high"},"analyst_status":"done","analyst_note":"Check the NVD entry and the VTK upstream repository for a fixed version and whether the flaw is reachable through network-supplied files.","search":"'-2026':14A,17A '-41216':15A,18A '-9.6':27B '7.5':72B '9.6':29B,94C 'alreadi':45B 'attack':108C 'call':55B 'caus':5A 'comput':24B 'craft':2A,97C 'crash':62B 'cve':13A,16A 'cvss':71B 'denial':10A,68B,104C 'derefer':8A,84C 'error':35B,53B 'executeinform':32B,90C 'exist':86C 'fclose':56B 'file':4A,99C,113C 'function':91C 'garbag':59B 'helper':42B 'invalid':6A,82C 'lead':101C 'libpng':34B 'make':51B 'malform':49B 'malici':112C 'mishandl':33B 'packag':20B 'patch':74B 'path':54B 'png':3A,50B,98C 'pointer':7A,60B,83C 'process':64B 'provid':110C 'publish':79B 'python':21B 'rate':66B 'releas':76B 'return':46B 'scientif':23B 'scientific-comput':22B 'servic':12A,70B,106C 'set':39B 'setjmp':37B 'special':96C 'talo':65B 'trigger':115C 'vtk':1A,19A,25B,26B,28B,75B,93C 'vtkpngreader':31B,89C 'vulner':85C,117C 'yet':80B","nicknames":[],"mitigations":[],"who_affected":"Applications built on VTK 9.6 (Python vtk, C++, ParaView-style tools) that read PNG files from users or other untrusted sources through vtkPNGReader. A malformed PNG crashes the process; services that accept uploaded images are the main concern. Systems that only read trusted local images, or don't use the PNG reader, can skip it. No fixed version is published yet.","tier":"B","verified":{"how_to_check":{"at":"2026-10-29T19:29:35Z","by":"analyst","doc":"https://www.talosintelligence.com/vulnerability_reports/TALOS-2026-2412","run_id":1102},"who_affected":{"at":"2026-10-29T19:29:35Z","by":"analyst","doc":"https://www.talosintelligence.com/vulnerability_reports/TALOS-2026-2412","run_id":1102}},"analyst_revisit_at":null,"fix_status":"none","audience":"developers","plain_action":null,"first_public_at":"2026-10-29T19:17:21+00:00","kev":null,"cvss_vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H","cvss_by":"talos-cna@cisco.com","poc_count":0,"sources":[{"source":"nvd","external_id":"CVE-2026-41216","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-41216","severity":null,"published_at":"2026-10-29T19:17:21+00:00","modified_at":"2026-10-29T19:17:21+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-10-29T19:26:48+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-10-29T19:26:48+00:00","note":null},{"source":"analyst","external_id":"CVE-2026-41216:1102","url":null,"severity":null,"published_at":"2026-10-29T19:29:35+00:00","modified_at":"2026-10-29T19:29:35+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-10-29T19:29:35+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-10-29T19:29:35+00:00","note":"Read Talos TALOS-2026-2412 (discoverer, not vendor): vtk 9.6 only confirmed; vendor still 'dev team working' at 2026-10-12, no patched version published. Root cause: setjmp in HandleLibPngError returns into dead stack frame, so fclose(fp) on garbage when libpng errors (malformed PNG) in ExecuteInformation; Talos notes possible code-exec theory on old glibc, but rated DoS. Sibling CVE-2026-42057 (vtkPNGReaderUpdate2) same day. Fix unknown; check vtk.org/download and VTK GitLab."}],"documents":[{"id":18905,"url":"https://www.talosintelligence.com/vulnerability_reports/TALOS-2026-2412","title":"TALOS-2026-2412 vtk vtkPNGReader::ExecuteInformation invalid pointer dereference","kind":"advisory","source":"analyst","publisher":null,"text":null,"published_at":null,"relation":"advisory","confidence":null,"note":null}],"notice":"Free to read at a human pace. An API with keys and an MCP server are in preparation; early access: hello@infrastack.ai"}