Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
A flaw in libpng can cause applications that process certain PNG images to read past allocated memory. In affected scenarios, this may expose small amounts of memory or crash the application. The issue affects libpng 1.6.51 through 1.6.53 and is fixed in 1.6.54.
Executive priority
Treat as a moderate-priority update for systems that process user-supplied images. Prioritize internet-facing upload pipelines, image conversion services, and widely deployed desktop applications. The main business concern is service disruption, with limited confidentiality risk noted by CVSS.
Technical view
CVE-2026-22695 is a CWE-125 heap buffer over-read in libpng’s simplified API, involving png_image_finish_read/png_image_read_direct_scaled. It occurs with interlaced 16-bit PNGs converted to 8-bit output when using non-minimal row stride. It is described as a regression from the CVE-2025-65018 fix.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely in applications, services, or desktop tools that use libpng 1.6.51 to 1.6.53 to process PNG files, especially untrusted images. Downstream packages may bundle libpng statically, so OS package checks alone may miss exposure.
Exploitation context
The CVSS vector indicates local attack conditions and user interaction. No CISA KEV listing or source-provided evidence of active exploitation was included. Practical risk depends on whether an attacker can get a vulnerable application to process a crafted PNG.
Researcher notes
Sources identify the vulnerable condition and fixing commits, but do not provide evidence of active exploitation. The affected range is specifically described as 1.6.51 to 1.6.53, fixed in 1.6.54. Validate downstream advisories because many products embed libpng.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade libpng to version 1.6.54 or later.
- Identify applications that statically bundle libpng.
- Check OS and application vendor advisories for downstream fixes.
- Limit processing of untrusted PNG files where upgrade is delayed.
Validation and detection
- Inventory libpng versions across hosts, containers, and build artifacts.
- Confirm no deployed component uses libpng 1.6.51 through 1.6.53.
- Review SBOMs for statically linked or vendored libpng copies.
- Verify patched builds reference libpng 1.6.54 or later.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
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-125: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2026-22695 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 6.1 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:H
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.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:H1.84.2Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
6.1MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://github.com/pnggroup/libpng/security/advisories/GHSA-mmq5-27w3-rxppCVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://github.com/pnggroup/libpng/issues/778CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/pnggroup/libpng/commit/218612ddd6b17944e21eda56caf8b4bf7779d1eaCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/pnggroup/libpng/commit/e4f7ad4ea2CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Out-of-bounds Read
Out-of-bounds Read represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.