CVE-2023-50447 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.1) Code Injection vulnerability in pillow. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for pillow — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Arbitrary Code Execution in Pillow
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2023-50447.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2023-50447 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 377,636 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
pillowReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects PyPI packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Pillow through 10.1.0 allows PIL.ImageMath.eval Arbitrary Code Execution via the environment parameter, a different vulnerability than CVE-2022-22817 (which was about the expression parameter).
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | pillow | all versions | 10.2.0pip install --upgrade 'pillow==10.2.0' |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for pillow, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update pillow to 10.2.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-50447 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2023-50447 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2023-50447. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Fixing This On Your OS
If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.
The vulnerability in Pillow's PIL.ImageMath.eval function poses a significant threat due to its potential for arbitrary code execution. Pillow's widespread use in diverse domains makes this flaw particularly impactful, as it could lead to unauthorized access, data breaches, and compromise of entire systems. The…
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.4 for RHEL 8 | python3x-pillow-0:10.3.0-1.el8ap | RHSA-2024:3781 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | python-pillow-0:2.0.0-25.gitd1c6db8.el7_9 | RHSA-2024:0857 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | python-pillow-0:5.1.1-18.el8_9.1 | RHSA-2024:0893 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.2 Advanced Update Support | python-pillow-0:5.1.1-15.el8_2 | RHSA-2024:1059 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Advanced Mission Critical Update Support | python-pillow-0:5.1.1-15.el8_4 | RHSA-2024:1060 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Extended Update Support | python-pillow-0:5.1.1-19.el8_6 | RHSA-2024:1058 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Extended Update Support | python-pillow-0:5.1.1-19.el8_8 | RHSA-2024:0754 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2023-50447 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2023-50447 across PyPI dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.