GIMP file-ico CVE-2026-82328

Exploitation requires that the victim actively opens a specially crafted ICO image file in GIMP (UI:R - mandatory user interaction, no zero-click path exists). The attack vector is local (AV:L): the malicious file must reach and be processed by GIMP on the victim's host; it is not directly network-exploitable. No authentication or system privileges are required of the attacker (PR:N), but the victim must have GIMP installed from a Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6-9 package. The file-ico plugin must be active, which is default in standard GIMP installations - no non-default configuration is required to be vulnerable. Limiting factors: mandatory user interaction to open the file, local-only attack surface, and no code execution capability (impact bounded to crash or partial heap read).

The CVSS 6.1 Medium score is well-calibrated: AV:L and UI:R together mean this is not remotely exploitable without a separate delivery step, and the primary impact is a crash (A:H) with only limited heap disclosure (C:L) and no integrity impact. These CVSS signals are internally consistent with the description. EPSS data is not present in the available intelligence, which is a gap - without it, statistical exploitation likelihood cannot be quantified. No KEV listing and no known POC further reduce urgency. The realistic threat model is a targeted file-drop attack (phishing, malicious download) against a user running GIMP on RHEL, and even a lean IT operation managing a modest RHEL desktop fleet should treat this as a routine patching priority rather than an emergency response - the combination of mandatory user interaction and no code execution path caps the real-world impact below what the headline availability score might suggest.

An attacker crafts an ICO image with a manipulated 'used_clrs' palette count that points the plugin's memory read beyond the allocated heap buffer, then delivers this file to a GIMP user on RHEL via a phishing email or malicious download. When the victim opens the file, GIMP's file-ico plugin reads past the palette buffer boundary, causing either an application crash (denial of service) or leaking a small window of adjacent heap memory that could theoretically include sensitive in-memory data. No public proof-of-concept is known at time of analysis.