Imager::File::PNG versions from 1.003 before 1.004 for Perl write past the end of the row buffer reading a PNG with a tRNS transparency chunk in read_direct8. With a tRNS chunk, read_direct8() adds an alpha channel to the image it creat…

Overview

Imager::File::PNG versions from 1.003 before 1.004 for Perl write past the end of the row buffer reading a PNG with a tRNS transparency chunk in read_direct8.

With a tRNS chunk, read_direct8() adds an alpha channel to the image it creates but still sizes the row buffer from the original channel count. libpng expands the transparency into that extra channel, so png_read_row() fills one channel more than the buffer holds, at one byte per sample, and writes width bytes past the end of the allocation. Palette images go to read_paletted() and 16-bit images to read_direct16(), which sizes its buffer from png_get_rowbytes() and allocates enough for the expanded row.

The same reader ships bundled in the Imager distribution.

Reading an attacker-supplied PNG through Imager->read() corrupts the heap, which can crash the process.

Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.