GHSA-m54q-mm9w-fp6g
Exiv2 has quadratic performance in ICC profile parsing in JpegBase::readMetadata
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.
Blast Radius
exiv2Real-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
Impact
A denial-of-service was found in Exiv2 version v0.28.5: a quadratic algorithm in the ICC profile parsing code in jpegBase::readMetadata() can cause Exiv2 to run for a long time. Exiv2 is a command-line utility and C++ library for reading, writing, deleting, and modifying the metadata of image files. The denial-of-service is triggered when Exiv2 is used to read the metadata of a crafted jpg image file.
Patches
The bug is fixed in version v0.28.6.
References
Issue: https://github.com/Exiv2/exiv2/issues/3333 Fixes: https://github.com/Exiv2/exiv2/pull/3335 (main branch), https://github.com/Exiv2/exiv2/pull/3345 (0.28.x branch)
For more information
Please see our security policy for information about Exiv2 security.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | exiv2 | all versions | No fix |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for exiv2. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Remediation status
No patched version of exiv2 has shipped for GHSA-m54q-mm9w-fp6g yet. Where your build allows, override or pin the dependency away from the vulnerable range, and apply any maintainer-recommended mitigation.
Mitigate without a patch
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 pinpoints whether GHSA-m54q-mm9w-fp6g is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to GHSA-m54q-mm9w-fp6g. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-m54q-mm9w-fp6g in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-m54q-mm9w-fp6g across PyPI dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.