png_handle_hIST(png_structp png_ptr, png_infop info_ptr, png_uint_32 length)
{
   unsigned int num, i;
   png_uint_16 readbuf[PNG_MAX_PALETTE_LENGTH];

   png_debug(1, "in png_handle_hIST");

   if (!(png_ptr->mode & PNG_HAVE_IHDR))
      png_error(png_ptr, "Missing IHDR before hIST");
   else if (png_ptr->mode & PNG_HAVE_IDAT)
   {
      png_warning(png_ptr, "Invalid hIST after IDAT");
      png_crc_finish(png_ptr, length);
      return;
   }
   else if (!(png_ptr->mode & PNG_HAVE_PLTE))
   {
      png_warning(png_ptr, "Missing PLTE before hIST");
      png_crc_finish(png_ptr, length);
      return;
   }
   else if (info_ptr != NULL && (info_ptr->valid & PNG_INFO_hIST))
   {
      png_warning(png_ptr, "Duplicate hIST chunk");
      png_crc_finish(png_ptr, length);
      return;
   }

   num = length / 2 ;
   if (num != (unsigned int) png_ptr->num_palette || num >
      (unsigned int) PNG_MAX_PALETTE_LENGTH)
   {
      png_warning(png_ptr, "Incorrect hIST chunk length");
      png_crc_finish(png_ptr, length);
      return;
   }

   for (i = 0; i < num; i++)
   {
      png_byte buf[2];

      png_crc_read(png_ptr, buf, 2);
      readbuf[i] = png_get_uint_16(buf);
   }

   if (png_crc_finish(png_ptr, 0))
      return;

   png_set_hIST(png_ptr, info_ptr, readbuf);
}

This weakness involves numeric computation errors, such as integer overflows, underflows, or precision losses, which can lead to miscalculations and exploitable behaviors in software.