libpng security issue that affects TeX Live 2026

"Nelson H. F. Beebe" <[email protected]> Tue, 17 Feb 2026 15:12:19 -0700
Newsgroups gmane.comp.tex.live
Message-ID <[email protected]>
There is a new security bulletin for libpng (see below).  From our
TeX Live 2026 progress report site at

	https://www.math.utah.edu/pub/texlive-utah-2026/

these executables depend on that library:

	libpng16	xelatex xelatex-dev xetex

However, a "grep -l libpng *" on the binaries in the x86_64-ubuntu2604
tree finds 56 executables that contain the string "libpng", which
perhaps means that they use that library, but do so via dynamic
linking, rather than having -lpng bound to the executable at link
time.  Alternatively, they may be statically linked with -lpng, and
thus, might contain vulnerable code.

Before I do builds on the various systems reported on at the above
site, I generally run system updates, and if needed, reboot the build
host(s).

Here is the Debian security advisory that just appeared:

>> ...
>> - -------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> Debian Security Advisory DSA-6138-1                   [email protected]
>> https://www.debian.org/security/                       Moritz Muehlenhoff
>> February 17, 2026                     https://www.debian.org/security/faq
>> - -------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> 
>> Package        : libpng1.6
>> CVE ID         : CVE-2026-25646
>> 
>> A buffer overflow was discovered in libpng, a library implementing an
>> interface for reading and writing PNG (Portable Network Graphics) files,
>> which could result in denial of service or potentially the execution
>> of arbitrary code.
>> 
>> For the oldstable distribution (bookworm), this problem has been fixed
>> in version 1.6.39-2+deb12u3. This update also includes two additional
>> security fixes (CVE-2026-22801 and CVE-2026-22695), which had been
>> lined up for the next Bookworm point release.
>> 
>> For the stable distribution (trixie), this problem has been fixed in
>> version 1.6.48-1+deb13u3. This update also includes two additional
>> security fixes (CVE-2026-22801 and CVE-2026-22695), which had been
>> lined up for the next Trixie point release.
>> 
>> We recommend that you upgrade your libpng1.6 packages.
>> 
>> For the detailed security status of libpng1.6 please refer to
>> its security tracker page at:
>> https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/libpng1.6
>> 
>> Further information about Debian Security Advisories, how to apply
>> these updates to your system and frequently asked questions can be
>> found at: https://www.debian.org/security/
>> 
>> Mailing list: [email protected]
>> ...

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- Nelson H. F. Beebe                    Tel: +1 801 581 5254                  -
- University of Utah                                                          -
- Department of Mathematics, 110 LCB    Internet e-mail: [email protected]  -
- 155 S 1400 E RM 233                       [email protected]  [email protected] -
- Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0090, USA    URL: https://www.math.utah.edu/~beebe -
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