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PatchSiren cyber security CVE debrief

CVE-2016-6236 Lepton Project CVE debrief

CVE-2016-6236 affects Dropbox Lepton 1.0 in the JPEG parsing path. A crafted JPEG can trigger an out-of-bounds read in setup_imginfo_jpg (lepton/jpgcoder.cc), which the NVD classifies as a denial-of-service condition with CVSS 5.5. Systems that process untrusted images should treat this as a patch-priority reliability issue, especially in automated ingestion pipelines.

Vendor
Lepton Project
Product
Lepton
CVSS
MEDIUM 5.5
CISA KEV
Not listed in stored evidence
Original CVE published
2017-02-02
Original CVE updated
2026-05-13
Advisory published
2017-02-02
Advisory updated
2026-05-13

Who should care

Operators and developers using Lepton 1.0, especially services that accept or transform user-supplied JPEG files. Security teams responsible for image-processing pipelines, desktop tooling, or other software that embeds Lepton should also review exposure.

Technical summary

The vulnerable code path is setup_imginfo_jpg in lepton/jpgcoder.cc. According to the NVD description and weakness mapping, a crafted JPEG can cause an out-of-bounds read (CWE-125), resulting in denial of service. The official CVSS vector is CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H, indicating availability impact with user interaction required.

Defensive priority

Medium. Prioritize remediation for any environment that processes untrusted JPEG content, but this is not an emergency-tier issue based on the supplied CVSS scoring.

Recommended defensive actions

  • Inventory deployments of Dropbox Lepton 1.0 and confirm whether untrusted JPEG input is processed.
  • Upgrade to a fixed release or apply the upstream patch referenced in the linked mailing list thread and GitHub issue.
  • If immediate upgrading is not possible, restrict or sandbox image parsing to reduce the impact of malformed inputs.
  • Add regression tests for malformed JPEG handling and monitor for crashes or abnormal exits in image-processing components.
  • Treat this as part of routine vulnerability management, with higher urgency for internet-facing or automated image ingestion services.

Evidence notes

The supplied NVD record describes an out-of-bounds read in setup_imginfo_jpg within lepton/jpgcoder.cc in Dropbox lepton 1.0, and maps the issue to CWE-125. The official NVD CVSS vector is CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H. Linked references include an oss-security mailing list post and a GitHub issue, both tagged as patch-related third-party references.

Sources and references

Verified primary and authoritative sources

  • CVE-2016-6236 CVE Program record

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-6236

    CVE Program - Official CVE Program record with source-provided CVE metadata.

  • CVE-2016-6236 NVD vulnerability detail

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-6236

    NIST National Vulnerability Database - Official NIST NVD detail page and source-specific vulnerability assessment.

Supplemental references

Methodology and review provenance

AI-assisted synthesis based on stored public vulnerability evidence. System validation, approval state, and publication status do not by themselves establish human review of this revision. PatchSiren helps prioritize defensive review and does not prove exposure or remediation on any system.