Skip to main content
View

Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Attacker crafts malicious APNG with oversized tRNS chunk
  2. Delivery
    Delivers file via phishing or download
  3. Exploit
    User opens file in GIMP
  4. Execution
    file-png plugin copies chunk to fixed stack buffer
  5. Persist
    Stack-based buffer overflow triggered
  6. Impact
    GIMP crash, user session DoS

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Buffer copy size validation
MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique across 1 tactic: Execution

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Exploitation Conditions

Exploitation requires the targeted user to actively open a malicious APNG image file in GIMP on an affected RHEL 6, 7, 8, or 9 system (UI:R per CVSS). The attack vector is local (AV:L), meaning the crafted file must be accessible on the local filesystem - a remote attacker must first deliver the file through a social engineering vector such as phishing, a malicious download, or a shared network drive. No elevated privileges or special GIMP configuration settings are required (PR:N); any user capable of running GIMP and opening image files is within the exploitable population. Exploitation is bounded by the AV:L/UI:R constraint: automated or unauthenticated remote exploitation against unattended systems is not possible. Deployments of GIMP outside of RHEL 6-9 (other Linux distros, Windows, macOS) are not confirmed affected based on available CPE data.

Impact

The CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5 (Medium) is consistent with the actual impact profile: the overflow produces a crash (A:H) with no confirmed confidentiality or integrity impact (C:N/I:N). The local attack vector (AV:L) and mandatory user interaction (UI:R) are the primary risk-reduction factors - an attacker cannot exploit this without the target user actively opening a malicious file in GIMP. No KEV listing exists, no POC is confirmed, and EPSS data is absent from source intelligence, placing this vulnerability in the lower real-world priority tier. Theoretically, a stack-based buffer overflow (CWE-121) could enable code execution in certain memory-layout conditions, but the CVSS assigns only availability impact - this distinction should be verified against any published Red Hat errata. For organizations running GIMP on RHEL 6-9, the operational risk is workflow disruption, not system compromise, and remediation priority should be calibrated accordingly relative to higher-severity vulnerabilities.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker crafts a malicious APNG image with an intentionally oversized tRNS chunk and delivers it to a target RHEL user via phishing email or a malicious download link. The user opens the file in GIMP, which passes the oversized tRNS data to the file-png plugin's stack buffer, triggering the overflow and causing an immediate application crash. The result is a loss of any unsaved work in the GIMP session; no code execution or data exfiltration is indicated by the current CVSS assessment.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).
No patch listed yet 0.1% exploitation probability (EPSS)

Get an e-mail when this CVE is exploited, patched or re-scored. Free account.

Alert me

AnalysisAIv1 – Aug 03, 2026

Stack-based buffer overflow in GIMP's file-png plugin on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 through 9 causes the application to crash when a user opens a crafted Animated PNG (APNG) image containing an oversized tRNS chunk, resulting in a Denial of Service limited to the affected user session. Exploitation requires local file access and active user interaction - a remote attacker would rely on social engineering (phishing, malicious download) to deliver the file. No active exploitation has been confirmed by CISA KEV, no public exploit code is identified at time of analysis, and EPSS data is unavailable in source intelligence.

RemediationAI

Monitor the Red Hat advisory at https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-6694 and the bugzilla tracker at https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2459779 for errata publication and patched GIMP package versions. No exact patched version number is confirmed in available source intelligence - a specific fix version should not be assumed until Red Hat publishes a formal errata notice. Once an errata is available, apply the updated GIMP package via 'dnf update gimp' (RHEL 8/9) or 'yum update gimp' (RHEL 6/7). As an interim compensating control, restrict user exposure to untrusted APNG files through email gateway filtering or endpoint policies; this eliminates the primary delivery vector without impacting other GIMP functionality. Disabling APNG file association with GIMP is a more aggressive option that removes the attack surface entirely but prevents users from opening animated PNGs in GIMP - evaluate workflow impact before deploying.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

The vulnerability resides in GIMP's file-png plugin, responsible for parsing PNG and APNG (Animated Portable Network Graphics) files. The tRNS chunk in PNG/APNG format encodes transparency data; the plugin copies incoming tRNS chunk data into a fixed-size stack buffer without first validating the chunk's declared or actual length. An oversized tRNS chunk overflows this buffer, constituting a stack-based buffer overflow (CWE-121, a subtype of the reported CWE-120 - 'Buffer Copy Without Checking Size of Input'). Both classifications are consistent; CWE-121 is the more precise child class. The CVSS vector AV:L/UI:R correctly models this as a local exploitation scenario requiring the user to open a crafted file. CPE data identifies the affected deployment surface as Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, 7, 8, and 9 (cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_enterprise_linux_6 through _9), scoping impact to GIMP packages shipped with those distributions.

Know when Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 gets its next vulnerability

  • Watch products and get an email when something new is published
  • Check this CVE against your own stack and servers
  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

No credit card · 7-day full trial

Severity by source

Vendor (redhat) PRIMARY 5.5 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
vuln.today AI 5.5 MEDIUM

User must locally open a crafted file (AV:L/UI:R); impact is crash-only with no C or I effect confirmed by description.

3.1 AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
4.0 AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
SUSE 7.0 HIGH
AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Red Hat 5.5 MEDIUM

Primary rating from Vendor (redhat).

CVSS VectorVendor: redhat

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

DescriptionCVE.org

A flaw was found in GIMP's file-png plugin. A remote attacker can exploit this by crafting a malicious Animated Portable Network Graphics (APNG) image containing an oversized tRNS chunk. This can lead to a stack-based buffer overflow (CWE-121), causing the file-png plugin to crash and resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS) for the user.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.1%
Top 95% exploitable
Prevalence
Medium
GIMP is widely installed on Linux desktops globally
Data Quality
6 sources
Confidence: High

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity MEDIUM
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.1%
Patch available No
Active threat No
Deciding rule
MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Defer
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Small
Automatable
No
Human Impact· derived
Medium
Technical Impact
Partial

Priority Score

28
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +28
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

A buffer overflow occurs when a program writes more data to a memory buffer than it was allocated to hold, causing the excess data to spill into adjacent memory regions.

Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.

Affected Products (CPE)CVE.org

cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_enterprise_linux_6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_enterprise_linux_7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_enterprise_linux_8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_enterprise_linux_9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
CVE-2026-18663 MEDIUM
5.9 Aug 12

Heap corruption via double-free in 389-ds-base's LDAP control parsing allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to crash

CVE-2026-4480 CRITICAL POC
9.0 May 26

Remote code execution in Samba's printing subsystem allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary shell commands via craft

CVE-2026-101258 HIGH POC
7.8 Oct 06

Ghostscript can execute arbitrary shell commands with the privileges of its process when it renders a crafted PostScript

CVE-2026-96889 HIGH POC
7.8 Sep 23

Use-after-free in librsvg during rendering of crafted SVG documents with nested XInclude directives and duplicate entity

CVE-2026-4775 HIGH POC
7.8 Mar 24

A signed integer overflow vulnerability exists in the libtiff library's putcontig8bitYCbCr44tile function that leads to

CVE-2026-114406 MEDIUM POC
6.8 Oct 21

The system CA trust store shipped in Red Hat's ca-certificates RPM packages includes eMudhra root authorities that signe

CVE-2026-59090 CRITICAL
9.9 Aug 10

Arbitrary code execution in GIMP's PSD import plugin allows an attacker to run code in the context of the user who opens

CVE-2026-18922 CRITICAL
9.8 Sep 07

Authentication bypass in 389 Directory Server (shipped as Red Hat Directory Server 11-13 and within RHEL 6-10) lets remo

CVE-2026-14544 CRITICAL
9.8 Jul 03

Remote code execution and privilege escalation in HPLIP (HP Linux Imaging and Printing) affects the hpcups print filter

CVE-2026-76578 CRITICAL
9.8 Sep 07

Unauthenticated privilege escalation in FreeIPA (Red Hat Identity Management) allows a remote attacker to gain genuine a

CVE-2026-102560 CRITICAL
9.8 Sep 29

A heap buffer overflow exists in libsoup's WebSocket permessage-deflate compression path: when a very large outbound mes

CVE-2026-107651 MEDIUM POC
5.5 Oct 08

A heap-based buffer overflow in the PNG metadata reader of Eye of GNOME (eog) allows an attacker to potentially achieve

Vendor StatusVendor

SUSE

Severity: Important
Product Status
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 Not-Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Package Hub 15 SP7 Not-Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP7 Not-Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP7 Not-Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 15 SP7 Not-Affected

This site uses cookies essential for authentication and security. No tracking or analytics cookies are used. Privacy Policy