Vulnerability · Published Sep 17, 2026 · Assigned by GitHub_M
CVE-2026-54604OpenSlide: openslide_read_region() returns uninitialized memory with libtiff 4.7.1
Medium 5.3
In plain English
A medium-severity security flaw in openslide from openslide. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.5% (higher than 45% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.
Official description
OpenSlide is a C library for reading whole slide image files. Prior to 4.0.1, a behavior change in libtiff 4.7.1 causes the indirect TIFF tile path in src/openslide-decode-tiff.c and _openslide_tiff_read_tile() to request a full-height destination for a partial bottom tile row, allowing uninitialized heap memory to enter pixel data returned by openslide_read_region(). A crafted but valid slide can trigger the issue in TIFF-based formats other than Hamamatsu NDPI when a network service renders attacker-provided slides. Successful extraction depends on pixel transparency handling and recompression, OpenSlide with libtiff 4.7.0 or earlier is not affected, and official binary builds 4.0.0.10 and 4.0.0.11 are affected. This issue is fixed in OpenSlide 4.0.1 and official binary build 4.0.0.12.
Affected packages & fixed versions
| Ecosystem | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian:12 | openslide | no fix listed | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-54604 |
| Debian:13 | openslide | no fix listed | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-54604 |
| Debian:14 | openslide | 4.0.1+dfsg-1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-54604 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | openslide | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-54604 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | openslide | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-54604 |
| Ubuntu:25.10 | openslide | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-54604 |
| Ubuntu:26.04:LTS | openslide | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-54604 |
| Ubuntu:26.10 | openslide | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-54604 |
Affected products (as reported)
Weakness: CWE-758, CWE-908 · Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
References
- https://github.com/openslide/openslide/security/advisories/GHSA-f734-jv98-5677 x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://github.com/openslide/openslide-bin/issues/433 x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/openslide/openslide-bin/pull/436 x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/openslide/openslide/pull/706 x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/openslide/openslide/commit/a4f0fb0ec462edcea97ff22288f606ac6cd370f5 x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/openslide/openslide/releases/tag/v4.0.1 x_refsource_MISC
- https://gitlab.com/libtiff/libtiff/-/work_items/791 x_refsource_MISC