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Pillow 13.0.0 patches EPS filename bug that can run commands via Ghostscript
The Hacker News reports Pillow 13.0.0, released Oct. 16, fixes CVE-2026-112900, in which a crafted EPS filename passed to Ghostscript can run operating-system commands; maintainers rate it moderate, GitHub's CVE record 9.2.
Pillow 13.0.0, released Oct. 16, fixes a bug in how the Python image library opens EPS files that can let a crafted filename run operating-system commands through Ghostscript, The Hacker News reported Friday1.
The issue, tracked as CVE-2026-112900, is in Pillow's EPS path: the library hands the file's name to Ghostscript, a separate program used to rasterize the image, without checking that name first1. Ghostscript can treat a chosen name as instructions rather than as a path and point at a second file that carries commands to run, according to the report1.
The Hacker News, citing the Pillow advisory, said the trigger is the filename, not the picture. "The flaw is triggered by the filename, not by anything in the PostScript document," the advisory said, as quoted in the report1.
That path only reaches Ghostscript on hosts that have the gs program installed, which Pillow needs to open EPS at all1. It affects Pillow from version 2.6.0 up to 12.3.01. Maintainers rate it moderate because an attacker has to control the filename; the CVE record assigned by GitHub rates it 9.2 out of 10 for the same condition1.
The report said realistic targets are upload endpoints that keep or build a stored file's name from user input1. OX Security, whose write-up drew attention to the batch, estimates the library is downloaded about 436 million times a month, according to The Hacker News1.
Version 13.0.0 is a large security release with fixes from low to critical, two of which the maintainers rate critical1. None of the flaws is known to be under attack, the report said1.
One of those critical-tier items is a FlashPix (FPX) JPEG-related overflow that was shown to run a command from a single Image.open() call on a crafted file if the optional olefile package is installed1. Pillow identifies those files by content, not extension1. Another, CVE-2026-112403, overflows a buffer when a program makes a thumbnail of a crafted lossless JPEG; its advisory reports a crash, not code execution1. The report said that bug was found by Anthropic using Claude and validated by Ada Logics1.
A third issue, CVE-2026-112393, overflows a buffer when a program saves a compressed TIFF to memory rather than to disk, a common re-encode pattern1. The advisory, as summarized, said reporters crashed the process with it and turned it into code execution only with a second, separate memory-address leak; saving to a real file is not affected1. GitHub-assigned CVE records score the EPS, TIFF and JPEG-thumbnail flaws 9.2; CISA analysts mark no known exploitation for the EPS flaw and a public proof of concept for the TIFF one, according to the report1.
The Hacker News said the fix is to upgrade to Pillow 13.0.0 and rebuild containers or wheels that bundle older copies1. Pillow 13 drops Python 3.10, so installs still on 3.10 need Python 3.11 or newer1. Until then, the project's guidance, as relayed, is to keep gs off hosts that process untrusted uploads, avoid passing attacker-controlled names to Image.open() for EPS, and treat JPEG thumbnail helpers and in-memory TIFF saves as sensitive paths1.
