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CVE Record

CVE-2020-35522: In LibTIFF, there is a memory malloc failure in tif_pixarlog.c.

In LibTIFF, there is a memory malloc failure in tif_pixarlog.c. A crafted TIFF document can lead to an abort, resulting in a remote denial of service attack.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2020-35522 is a LibTIFF crash issue. A specially crafted TIFF document can trigger a malloc-related failure in PixarLog handling and abort the process, causing denial of service. Business urgency depends on whether systems accept or automatically process TIFF files from untrusted sources.

Executive priority

Treat this as a targeted availability risk. It is most urgent for internet-facing or business-critical systems that automatically parse user-supplied TIFF files. Patch through normal vendor channels, with higher priority for exposed ingestion services.

Technical view

The CVE describes a memory allocation failure in LibTIFF's tif_pixarlog.c affecting libtiff 4.2.0. The documented impact is process abort from crafted TIFF input, resulting in remote denial of service. The source bundle lists CWE-119, but provides no CVSS vector or deeper root-cause detail.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely in servers, applications, document pipelines, security tools, or appliances that use LibTIFF 4.2.0 to parse TIFF files from users, email, uploads, archives, or automated ingestion workflows.

Exploitation context

The supplied data does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. Exploitation requires processing a crafted TIFF document and appears limited by the sources to service disruption, not code execution.

Researcher notes

Evidence is sparse: no CVSS, no CPEs, and no exploit status beyond the CVE description. The key technical anchor is LibTIFF 4.2.0 and tif_pixarlog.c malloc failure leading to abort. Avoid expanding impact beyond denial of service without additional vendor evidence.

Mitigation direction

  • Inventory systems and applications that include LibTIFF or TIFF parsing support.
  • Prioritize systems that process TIFF files from untrusted or external users.
  • Apply relevant vendor or distribution updates from your platform maintainer.
  • Reduce or isolate untrusted TIFF processing where updates are unavailable.
  • Check Red Hat, Fedora, Gentoo, NetApp, and upstream guidance for exact fixed packages.

Validation and detection

  • Confirm installed LibTIFF versions, especially libtiff 4.2.0.
  • Map TIFF parsing paths in upload, email, document, and image workflows.
  • Verify patched package versions against applicable vendor advisories.
  • Confirm exposed services handle parser crashes without broad service outage.
  • Review monitoring for crashes in TIFF-processing services.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
6

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.

cwe · low confidence lookup

CWE-119: Exact CWE lookup

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cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2020-35522 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

0CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
5Source links

CVSS and timeline data

No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
n/alibtifflibtiff 4.2.0Listed
Weakness

CWE details

CWE-119

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.