Executive brief
GIMP, a popular open-source image editor, is vulnerable to a security flaw when processing GIF images. An attacker can create a malicious GIF file that, when opened by a user, could crash the application or allow the attacker to take control of the computer. This poses a risk to data confidentiality and system stability for users who open untrusted image files.
Technical details
A classic buffer overflow (CWE-120) exists in GIMP's GIF image loading component within the ReadJeffsImage function. The vulnerability is triggered when the application processes a specially crafted GIF file, allowing an attacker to write data beyond the boundaries of an allocated buffer. This is a local attack vector that requires user interaction (opening a malicious file). Successful exploitation can lead to arbitrary code execution or a denial of service (application crash). Red Hat has identified Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 and 8 as affected, while versions 7 and 9 are unaffected.
Affected products
- GIMP GIMP -
- Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 affected
- Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 affected
Timeline
- 2026-04-15: disclosed: Initial disclosure date
- 2026-04-15: advisory: NVD and Red Hat published advisories