Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2009-0040

The PNG reference library (aka libpng) before 1.0.43, and 1.2.x before 1.2.35, as used in pngcrush and other applications, allows context-dependent attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via a crafted PNG file that triggers a free of an uninitialized pointer in (1) the png_read_png function, (2) pCAL chunk handling, or (3) setup of 16-bit gamma tables.

Security Impact Summary

CVE-2009-0040 is a security vulnerability that . Impacting 9 products from libpng, from apple, from apple and 6 others, organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

Originally identified in 2009, this vulnerability predates many modern security frameworks and practices. The vulnerability landscape of that era was characterized by different threat models and less mature defense mechanisms compared to contemporary standards.

Published

2009-02-22T22:30:00.203

Last Modified

2026-04-23T00:35:47.467

Status

Modified

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv2: 6.8 (MEDIUM)

CVSSv2 Vector

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

  • Access Vector: NETWORK
  • Access Complexity: MEDIUM
  • Authentication: NONE
  • Confidentiality Impact: PARTIAL
  • Integrity Impact: PARTIAL
  • Availability Impact: PARTIAL
Exploitability Score

8.6

Impact Score

6.4

Weaknesses
  • Type: Primary
    CWE-824
Affected Vendors & Products
Type Vendor Product Version/Range Vulnerable?
Application libpng libpng < 1.0.43 Yes
Application libpng libpng < 1.2.35 Yes
Operating System apple iphone_os < 3.0 Yes
Operating System apple mac_os_x < 10.5.8 Yes
Operating System opensuse opensuse 10.3 Yes
Operating System opensuse opensuse 11.0 Yes
Operating System opensuse opensuse 11.1 Yes
Operating System suse linux_enterprise 9.0 Yes
Operating System suse linux_enterprise 10.0 Yes
Operating System suse linux_enterprise_desktop 10 Yes
Operating System suse linux_enterprise_server 10 Yes
Operating System debian debian_linux 4.0 Yes
Operating System debian debian_linux 5.0 Yes
Operating System fedoraproject fedora 9 Yes
Operating System fedoraproject fedora 10 Yes
References

How SecUtils Interprets This CVE

SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For libpng's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.