Junglewise Threat Intelligence

CVE-2026-4152: GIMP JP2 file parsing heap-based buffer overflow

CVE-2026-4152 · Severity: high · CVSS 7.8 · Published 2026-04-11

Technologies: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Gimp, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9. Vendors: Red Hat, Gimp.

Executive brief

GIMP, a popular open-source image editor, is vulnerable to a security flaw when processing certain image files. An attacker could trick a user into opening a specially crafted JP2 image file, which could then allow the attacker to take control of the user's computer or execute malicious commands. This could lead to the theft of personal data or a complete compromise of the affected system.

Technical details

A heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in GIMP due to improper validation of user-supplied data length during the parsing of JP2 (JPEG 2000) files. The flaw occurs when data is copied to a heap buffer without sufficient bounds checking, leading to an out-of-bounds write (CWE-787). An attacker can exploit this by convincing a user to open a specially crafted JP2 file, potentially achieving remote code execution (RCE) within the context of the GIMP process. The vulnerability was coordinated through the Zero Day Initiative (ZDI-CAN-28863) and patches have been released by GIMP and various Linux distributions including Red Hat.

Affected products

  • GIMP GIMP 3.0.8
  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9

Timeline

  • 2026-03-05: disclosed: Vulnerability reported to vendor
  • 2026-03-19: advisory: Coordinated public release of ZDI advisory
  • 2026-04-11: advisory: NVD publication date
  • 2026-05-12: patched: Red Hat released security updates (RHSA-2026:16484)

References

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