Is CVE-2011-2501 being actively exploited?

CVE-2011-2501 is not currently listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2011-2501?

CVE-2011-2501 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 6.5 (MEDIUM).

CVE-2011-2501

MEDIUM · CVSS 6.5EPSS 3.5%EU EUVD

The png_format_buffer function in pngerror.c in libpng 1.0.x before 1.0.55, 1.2.x before 1.2.45, 1.4.x before 1.4.8, and 1.5.x before 1.5.4 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) via a crafted PNG image that triggers an out-of-bounds read during the copying of error-message data. NOTE: this vulnerability exists because of a CVE-2004-0421 regression. NOTE: this is called an off-by-one error by some sources.

Key facts

CVSS score: 6.5 (v3.1)
Severity: MEDIUM
CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Weakness (CWE): CWE-125
EPSS score: 3.5% (89th percentile)
In CISA KEV: No
In EU EUVD: Yes (EUVD-2011-2488)
Published: July 17, 2011
NVD last modified: June 16, 2026
Status: Modified

EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD)

This vulnerability is also tracked by ENISA as EUVD-2011-2488 in the EU Vulnerability Database. Last updated in EUVD on August 6, 2024.

View on the EU Vulnerability Database

Affected products

canonical / ubuntu linux
canonical / ubuntu linux
canonical / ubuntu linux
canonical / ubuntu linux
debian / debian linux
debian / debian linux
fedoraproject / fedora
libpng / libpng

References

http://libpng.git.sourceforge.net/git/gitweb.cgi?p=libpng/libpng%3Ba=commit%3Bh=65e6d5a34f49acdb362a0625a706c6b914e670af
http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2011-July/062720.html(Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)
http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2011-July/063118.html(Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)
http://secunia.com/advisories/45046(Broken Link)
http://secunia.com/advisories/45289(Broken Link)
http://secunia.com/advisories/45405(Broken Link)
http://secunia.com/advisories/45415(Broken Link)
http://secunia.com/advisories/45460(Broken Link)
http://secunia.com/advisories/45486(Broken Link)
http://secunia.com/advisories/45492(Broken Link)
http://secunia.com/advisories/49660(Broken Link)
http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/glsa-201206-15.xml(Third Party Advisory)
http://slackware.com/security/viewer.php?l=slackware-security&y=2011&m=slackware-security.617466(Mailing List, Patch, Third Party Advisory)
http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/forum.php?thread_name=BANLkTikrnU6FJNQYFvwmt78hwpgKPVRd1Q%40mail.gmail.com&forum_name=png-mng-implement(Exploit, Issue Tracking, Third Party Advisory)
http://www.debian.org/security/2011/dsa-2287(Third Party Advisory)
http://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDVSA-2011:151(Broken Link)
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2011/06/27/13(Mailing List, Patch, Third Party Advisory)
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2011/06/28/16(Mailing List, Patch, Third Party Advisory)
http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2011-1105.html(Broken Link)
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/48474(Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-1175-1(Third Party Advisory)
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=717084(Issue Tracking, Patch, Third Party Advisory)
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/68517(Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)

Last updated September 17, 2026 · Source: NVD, CISA KEV, FIRST.org EPSS

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