# CVE-2004-0421: Denial of service in n/a > Attackers can cause a denial of service via a malformed PNG image triggering an out-of-bounds read in libpng. - **Severity:** Medium 5.0 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P`) - **Exploited in the wild:** Not known - **Login needed:** Not needed - **Attackable:** Over the internet - **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something - **Fix available:** Yes - **Published:** 5 May 2004 - **Updated:** 8 Aug 2024 - **Also known as:** DSA-498, GHSA-f6gc-489h-x492, RHSA-2004:180 ## What is CVE-2004-0421? CVE-2004-0421 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Libpng Libpng, published on 5 May 2004. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link. ### Official description The Portable Network Graphics library (libpng) 1.0.15 and earlier allows attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via a malformed PNG image file that triggers an error that causes an out-of-bounds read when creating the error message. Weakness: CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2004-0421? It affects 6 products. | Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | `libpng` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:3::as | All versions | 2:1.2.2-21 | | `libpng-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:3::as | All versions | 2:1.2.2-21 | | `libpng-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:3::as | All versions | 2:1.2.2-21 | | `libpng10` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:3::as | All versions | 0:1.0.13-12 | | `libpng10-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:3::as | All versions | 0:1.0.13-12 | | `libpng10-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:3::as | All versions | 0:1.0.13-12 | | `libpng` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:3::desktop | All versions | 2:1.2.2-21 | | `libpng-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:3::desktop | All versions | 2:1.2.2-21 | | `libpng-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:3::desktop | All versions | 2:1.2.2-21 | | `libpng10` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:3::desktop | All versions | 0:1.0.13-12 | | `libpng10-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:3::desktop | All versions | 0:1.0.13-12 | | `libpng10-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:3::desktop | All versions | 0:1.0.13-12 | | `libpng` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:3::es | All versions | 2:1.2.2-21 | | `libpng-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:3::es | All versions | 2:1.2.2-21 | | `libpng-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:3::es | All versions | 2:1.2.2-21 | | `libpng10` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:3::es | All versions | 0:1.0.13-12 | | `libpng10-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:3::es | All versions | 0:1.0.13-12 | | `libpng10-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:3::es | All versions | 0:1.0.13-12 | | `libpng` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:3::ws | All versions | 2:1.2.2-21 | | `libpng-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:3::ws | All versions | 2:1.2.2-21 | | `libpng-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:3::ws | All versions | 2:1.2.2-21 | | `libpng10` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:3::ws | All versions | 0:1.0.13-12 | | `libpng10-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:3::ws | All versions | 0:1.0.13-12 | | `libpng10-devel` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:3::ws | All versions | 0:1.0.13-12 | Products: Libpng Libpng, Openpkg Openpkg, Redhat Enterprise Linux, Redhat Enterprise Linux Desktop, Redhat Libpng, Trustix Secure Linux. ## How do I fix CVE-2004-0421? Upgrade to a fixed version. ## Is CVE-2004-0421 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of CVE-2004-0421 in the wild and no public exploit code. ## Other vulnerabilities in Libpng Libpng - [CVE-2017-12652](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-12652/): Denial of service in n/a (critical 9.8) - [CVE-2018-14550](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-14550/): Out-of-bounds write in libpng (high 8.8) - [CVE-2026-25646](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-25646/): LIBPNG has a heap buffer overflow in png_set_quantize (high 8.3) - [CVE-2026-33636](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-33636/): LIBPNG has ARM NEON Palette Expansion Out-of-Bounds Read on AArch64 (high 7.6) - [CVE-2026-33416](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-33416/): LIBPNG has use-after-free via pointer aliasing in `png_set_tRNS` and `png_set_PLTE` (high 7.5) ## Fix prompt for AI coding agents ```text Check this codebase for CVE-2004-0421 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2004-0421 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Libpng Libpng, published on 5 May 2004. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link. Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2004-0421 in the wild and no public exploit code. Affected product: Libpng Libpng. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page. Task: 1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies. 2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it. 3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead. 4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why. 5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing. Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-0421/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-0421/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2004-0421 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2004-0421 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2004-0421 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-0421/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.