CVE-2026-8814 ExifReader is vulnerable to denial of service via unbounded decompression of image metadata
Attackers can cause memory exhaustion and denial of service by providing crafted PNG files with highly compressed metadata to applications using this library.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-8814?
CVE-2026-8814 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in exifreader, published on 19 May 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
Versions of the package exifreader before 4.39.0 are vulnerable to Improper Handling of Highly Compressed Data (Data Amplification) due to decompressing PNG zTXt metadata without enforcing a built-in maximum decompressed output size. When asynchronous parsing is enabled, a crafted PNG file containing a highly compressed zTXt chunk can cause ExifReader to materialize a disproportionately large Comment value in memory.
Weakness: CWE-409
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-8814?
2 open source packages ship an affected version, including exifreader.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
exifreader npm | From 4.20.0 | 4.39.0 |
exifreader npm | From 4.20.0 | 4.39.0 |
How do I fix CVE-2026-8814?
Upgrade exifreader to 4.39.0 or later.
Upgrade, then put limits on request size, rate and nesting depth so one client cannot exhaust the service. More about Denial of service.
Is CVE-2026-8814 being exploited?
It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-8814 exists.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-rr89-w3h9-m66j.