Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessCraft malicious PSD or PAA image
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DeliveryDeliver via email, web, or shared drive
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ExploitVictim opens file in GIMP
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ExecutionOut-of-bounds write corrupts plugin heap memory
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ImpactAttacker achieves code execution as victim user
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Bounds checking, write limits
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 2 tactics: Execution, Privilege Escalation The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires a user to actively open a specially crafted PSD or PAA image file in GIMP - the out-of-bounds write is triggered during file parsing by the respective plugin. No network service, daemon, or open port is involved; GIMP must be executed in an interactive session by a local user (AV:L, UI:R). The attacker must successfully deliver the malicious file and convince the target to open it, typically via phishing, malicious download links, or shared storage. What limits exploitation: the local-only attack surface eliminates remote scanning or automated mass exploitation (SSVC: not automatable); the EPSS score of 0.17% confirms low observed exploitation activity; no authentication bypass, privilege escalation beyond the current user context, or kernel access is implied (S:U, PR:N means any unprivileged user session suffices to be targeted). The vulnerability is not triggered by background file indexing or thumbnail generation - GIMP must be the processing application. |
| Impact | CVSS 7.8 with a High rating is justified by the C:H/I:H/A:H impact triad, but the local attack vector (AV:L) and required user interaction (UI:R) meaningfully constrain real-world exploitation. The EPSS score of 0.17% (6th percentile) is very low, indicating the security community sees minimal current exploitation probability - consistent with SSVC classifying exploitation as none and the attack as not automatable. No KEV listing and no identified POC further reduce urgency relative to the raw CVSS score. The SSVC technical impact of total does confirm that successful exploitation yields full compromise of the affected user session. On balance, this is a genuine security issue warranting patching in the normal patch cycle, but it does not represent an imminent emergency: it requires targeted delivery, user action, and does not propagate without human involvement. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker emails or hosts a maliciously crafted PSD or PAA image file, then social-engineers the target into opening it with GIMP. The malformed image triggers an out-of-bounds write in the file format plugin, corrupting heap or stack memory in a way that redirects control flow, ultimately executing attacker-supplied shellcode under the victim's user account. No public proof-of-concept has been identified at time of analysis, but the attack requires no special privileges and low technical complexity once the user opens the file. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv2 – Aug 19, 2026
Out-of-bounds write vulnerabilities in GIMP's PSD and PAA file format parsing plugins allow remote attackers to achieve code execution with the privileges of the local user by delivering a specially crafted image file. Affected deployments include GIMP packages shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 through 9. No public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis, and CISA SSVC classifies exploitation status as none with the attack assessed as not automatable, though technical impact is rated total given the C:H/I:H/A:H CVSS profile.
Earlier versions of this analysis (1)
Out-of-bounds write in GIMP's PSD and PAA file format plugins allows a local attacker - or remote attacker via social engineering - to trigger memory corruption when a user opens a specially crafted image file, with potential for arbitrary code execution at the user's privilege level. The vulnerability affects GIMP as packaged across Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 through 9. No public exploit code or confirmed active exploitation has been identified at time of analysis, though the full C:H/I:H/A:H CVSS impact vector indicates successful exploitation could yield complete compromise of the affected user session.
RemediationAI
The primary remediation is to apply updated GIMP packages from Red Hat once available for the affected RHEL release; monitor https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-59091 and the associated Bugzilla entry at https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2496585 for patched package announcements. No specific fixed version has been confirmed in available data, so a vendor-released patch should not be assumed available. As a compensating control, restrict or disable GIMP's PSD and PAA plugin processing in environments where handling of untrusted image files is not required, though disabling these plugins may break legitimate workflows for graphic artists. User-awareness measures - instructing staff not to open image files from untrusted sources - reduce the social-engineering surface but cannot substitute for patching. GIMP's AppArmor or SELinux confinement profiles on RHEL can limit the blast radius of exploitation by constraining the process's filesystem and network access even if a memory corruption exploit succeeds.
Affects your stack
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Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
GIMP implements file format support through discrete plugins, including parsers for Adobe Photoshop (PSD) and PAA image formats. CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write) indicates that malformed image data causes the plugin to write memory beyond an allocated buffer boundary - a classic memory corruption class tied to insufficient bounds checking during parsing of attacker-controlled file structures such as layer records, channel descriptors, or palette data. The CPE strings cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_enterprise_linux_6 through 9 confirm that GIMP as packaged and distributed by Red Hat across its major RHEL releases is the affected delivery vehicle. The CVSS vector AV:L reflects that exploitation requires the file to be processed on the victim's local system, while UI:R captures the social engineering precondition of convincing the user to open the file.
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Severity by source
AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
File parsed locally by user-launched GIMP process; no network vector, no privilege required, but user must open file.
AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Primary rating from Vendor (redhat).
CVSS VectorNVD
Lifecycle Timeline
3DescriptionNVD
A flaw was found in GIMP's file format plugins, including those for PSD and PAA files. A remote attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities by tricking a user into opening a specially crafted image file. This could lead to unexpected application behavior or other potential security impacts without requiring further user interaction.
Executive ViewAI
GIMP's PSD and PAA file format plugins contain out-of-bounds write vulnerabilities affecting Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6-9 deployments, enabling remote code execution with user-level privileges via malicious image files. Organizations using GIMP to process externally-sourced or untrusted image files face immediate risk of compromise within their user context.
No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis. Implement file-type validation to reject PSD and PAA formats before GIMP processing, disable the vulnerable plugins via GIMP configuration, restrict GIMP execution to sandboxed or isolated environments with minimal network access, enforce principle-of-least-privilege by running GIMP under dedicated non-root accounts, and deploy endpoint detection to monitor for suspicious GIMP process activity or unexpected child process spawning.
Threat Intelligence Overview
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.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
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.
Memory corruption occurs when a program writes data beyond the boundaries of allocated memory regions or accesses memory in unintended ways, violating the integrity of the process's address space.
Affected Products (CPE)NVD
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Same weakness CWE-787 – Out-of-bounds Write
View allSame technique Buffer Overflow
View allVendor StatusVendor
SUSE
Severity: Moderate| 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 |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP4 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP5 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP6 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP4 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP5 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP6 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Package Hub 15 SP4 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Package Hub 15 SP5 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Package Hub 15 SP6 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 15 SP4 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 15 SP5 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 15 SP6 | Not-Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.4 | Not-Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.5 | Not-Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | Not-Affected |
EUVD-2026-55732
GHSA-47q2-mm4c-pmpc
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
VulDB
Exploit-DB