Описание
vLLM: image EXIF Rotation & PNG tRNS Transparency Not Normalized, Causing Mismatch Between Model Input and Expectations
Summary
Issue 1: EXIF orientation not normalized → The image orientation processed by the model differs from how humans view it, introducing interpretation bias.
Issue 2: PNG tRNS not explicitly flattened before converting to RGB → After conversion, transparent/semi-transparent pixels are rendered unexpectedly, making otherwise subtle overlay elements visible and distorting the input content. (This attack is similar to AlphaDog: RGBA handling is already correct in vLLM, but since tRNS permits RGB images, the correct processing path isn’t taken.)
Issue 3 : Pillow only loads the first frame when loading APNG or GIF files.
Root Cause
- Rotation: After opening an image,
ImageOps.exif_transposeis not called to normalize EXIF orientation. - Transparency: Only RGBA→RGB is flattened with a background; PNGs carrying
tRNSinP/L/RGB + tRNSand other non-RGBA modes take theimage.convert("RGB")path, which implicitly discards/remaps transparency semantics.
Affected Code
Current state:
ImageOps.exif_transposeis not used. (Although therescale_image_sizefunction (https://github.com/vllm-project/vllm/blob/main/vllm/multimodal/image.py#L14) exists and includes atransposeparameter, I’ve found that it doesn’t seem to be called anywhere outside thetestdirectory.)
Call order:
_convert_image_moderuns first; if the conditions are met,convert_image_modeis called.Issue: Only the “RGBA → RGB” path is explicitly flattened.
P,L, orRGBwithtRNSall fall back toimage.convert("RGB"). For PNGs that includetRNS,convert("RGB")directly produces 24-bit RGB, leading to:
Pmode: The transparent index becomes an actual RGB color (often black, white, or an undefined background), so transparency is lost.L/LAandRGB + tRNS:convert("RGB")doesn’t composite against a chosen background first, so elements that relied on transparency to be hidden or softened become solid.
Impact & Scope
- Impact: Pixels the model sees can diverge from operator expectations (due to orientation or transparency handling), potentially altering downstream reasoning.
- Scope: The image I/O and mode-conversion paths in
vllm/multimodal/image.py. The existing RGBA→RGB flattening is correct; the issues center on missing EXIF normalization and non-RGBAtRNSnot being explicitly composited.
Case
EXIF: http://qiniu.funxingzuo.top/exif_orient_180.jpg tRNS: http://qiniu.funxingzuo.top/hello.png
Fix
A fix for this vulnerability was merged here: https://github.com/vllm-project/vllm/pull/44974
Ссылки
- https://github.com/vllm-project/vllm/security/advisories/GHSA-8jr5-v98p-w75m
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-12491
- https://github.com/vllm-project/vllm/pull/44974
- https://github.com/vllm-project/vllm/commit/cf1c90672404548aa3bc51f92c4745576a65ee26
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-12491
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2489786
- https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-8jr5-v98p-w75m
- https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/vllm/PYSEC-2026-3406.yaml
- https://pypi.org/project/vllm
Пакеты
vllm
>= 0.11.0, < 0.24.0
0.24.0
Связанные уязвимости
A flaw was found in vLLM, an open-source library for large language model inference. This vulnerability arises from improper handling of image metadata, specifically EXIF orientation and PNG transparency (tRNS) data, during image processing. When images are converted to RGB, transparency information may be implicitly discarded or remapped, leading to unexpected rendering of transparent pixels and distortion of input content. This can result in the model misinterpreting image content, potentially affecting the integrity of processed data.
A flaw was found in vLLM, an open-source library for large language model inference. This vulnerability arises from improper handling of image metadata, specifically EXIF orientation and PNG transparency (tRNS) data, during image processing. When images are converted to RGB, transparency information may be implicitly discarded or remapped, leading to unexpected rendering of transparent pixels and distortion of input content. This can result in the model misinterpreting image content, potentially affecting the integrity of processed data.
A flaw was found in vLLM, an open-source library for large language mo ...