CVE-2026-22187

Bio-Formats versions up to and including 8.3.0 perform unsafe Java deserialization of attacker-controlled memoization cache files (.bfmemo) during image processing. The loci.formats.Memoizer class automatically loads and deserializes memo files associated with images without validation, integrity checks, or trust enforcement. An attacker who can supply a crafted .bfmemo file alongside an image can trigger deserialization of untrusted data, which may result in denial of service, logic manipulation, or potentially remote code execution in environments where suitable gadget chains are present on the classpath.

Weakness

The product deserializes untrusted data without sufficiently ensuring that the resulting data will be valid.

Potential Mitigations

• Make fields transient to protect them from deserialization.
• An attempt to serialize and then deserialize a class containing transient fields will result in NULLs where the transient data should be. This is an excellent way to prevent time, environment-based, or sensitive variables from being carried over and used improperly.

Related Attack Patterns

• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/586.html

References

• https://docs.openmicroscopy.org/bio-formats/
• https://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2026/Jan/7
• https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/bio-formats-memoizer-unsafe-deserialization-via-bfmemo-cache-files