# CVE-2016-10087: Null dereference in n/a

> Attackers can cause a denial of service via a NULL pointer dereference in libpng by manipulating text chunks in PNG images.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 30 Jan 2017
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** AZL-44325, AZL-44883, DEBIAN-CVE-2016-10087, GHSA-r346-8vrh-m3wr, MGASA-2017-0020, SUSE-SU-2017:0853-1, UBUNTU-CVE-2016-10087

## What is CVE-2016-10087?

CVE-2016-10087 is a high-severity vulnerability in Libpng Libpng, published on 30 Jan 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The png_set_text_2 function in libpng 0.71 before 1.0.67, 1.2.x before 1.2.57, 1.4.x before 1.4.20, 1.5.x before 1.5.28, and 1.6.x before 1.6.27 allows context-dependent attackers to cause a NULL pointer dereference vectors involving loading a text chunk into a png structure, removing the text, and then adding another text chunk to the structure.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-10087?

It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `libpng16` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP1 | All versions | 1.6.8-14.1 |
| `libpng16` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP2 | All versions | 1.6.8-14.1 |
| `libpng16` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP1 | All versions | 1.6.8-14.1 |
| `libpng16` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2 | All versions | 1.6.8-14.1 |
| `libpng16` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for Raspberry Pi 12 SP2 | All versions | 1.6.8-14.1 |
| `libpng16` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP1 | All versions | 1.6.8-14.1 |
| `libpng16` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP2 | All versions | 1.6.8-14.1 |
| `libpng16` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12 SP1 | All versions | 1.6.8-14.1 |
| `libpng16` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 12 SP2 | All versions | 1.6.8-14.1 |

Products: Libpng Libpng.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-10087?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2016-10087 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-10087 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-2016-10087 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-10087 is a high-severity vulnerability in Libpng Libpng, published on 30 Jan 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-10087 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-2016-10087/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-10087/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-10087
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-10087
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-10087

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-10087/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.