# CVE-2026-13708: Denial of service in Imager::File::JPEG

> Attackers can cause memory exhaustion and denial of service in Perl applications by supplying JPEG files with repeated APP13 markers.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/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:** 6 Jul 2026
- **Updated:** 6 Jul 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2026-13708, GHSA-cx44-fgg3-fcp4, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-13708

## What is CVE-2026-13708?

CVE-2026-13708 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in TONYC Imager::File::JPEG, published on 6 Jul 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Imager::File::JPEG versions before 1.003 for Perl leak heap memory when reading a JPEG with repeated APP13 markers in i_readjpeg_wiol.

i_readjpeg_wiol walks the marker list libjpeg returns and, for each APP13 marker, allocates a new buffer with *iptc_itext = mymalloc(...) and overwrites the previous pointer without freeing it. Only the final payload is later turned into a Perl scalar and freed, so a JPEG with N such markers leaks the first N-1 payloads on every read.

In a long-lived process, such as an upload or thumbnailing service, repeated reads accumulate these leaks and exhaust available memory, a denial of service.

The same handler ships bundled in the Imager distribution, where versions before 1.032 are affected and the fix ships in 1.032.

Weakness: CWE-401 (Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-13708?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-13708?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2026-13708 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-13708 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-13708 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-13708 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in TONYC Imager::File::JPEG, published on 6 Jul 2026. 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-2026-13708 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: TONYC Imager::File::JPEG. 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-2026-13708/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-13708/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-13708
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-13708
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-13708

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-13708/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.