React Infinite Loop Bug Traced to Callback Ref, Not useEffect Dependency

A developer building a pixel image preview component encountered a 'Maximum update depth exceeded' error in React, caused by an unexpected infinite render loop. The bug originated in a callback ref designed as a fallback for cached images, which manually fired an onLoad event that triggered a setState call, causing repeated re-renders. Unlike typical infinite loop bugs, no unstable useEffect dependency was involved, making the root cause difficult to identify from the stack trace alone. The fix applied two guards: a ref tracking which image URL had already fired the cached fallback, and a functional state update that skips changes when dimensions are identical to the previous values. The developer concluded that any callback running during React's DOM attachment phase can inadvertently enter the render cycle, not just effects with dependency arrays.