Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessCraft malicious TIFF file
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DeliveryDeliver via web page or phishing
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ExploitVictim opens file in GIMP
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ExecutionTrigger heap overflow in TIF parser
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ImpactExecute arbitrary code as current user
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Heap buffer bounds checking
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 target user to open a malicious TIF/TIFF file in GIMP - either by visiting a web page that triggers automatic file opening, or by manually opening a delivered file. The CVSS vector (PR:N) confirms no prior authentication or privileges are needed on the target system beyond the ability to run GIMP. Exploitation is limited to the context of the logged-in user (S:U, scope unchanged), so attacker access is bounded by the victim's OS-level permissions. The mandatory user interaction (UI:R) is the primary limiting factor: automated exploitation without any user action is not possible. The specific configuration condition is simply having GIMP 3.2.2 installed and opening a crafted TIFF file - no non-default GIMP configuration is required. |
| Impact | The NVD CVSS 3.0 score of 7.8 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) reflects high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact but limits the attack vector to local execution requiring user interaction - the attacker must socially engineer a victim into opening a malicious TIFF file, either via a website or delivered file. This is a common and realistic delivery model for desktop image editor exploits. No EPSS data was provided, and the vulnerability is not listed in CISA KEV, indicating no confirmed active exploitation campaign at time of analysis. The absence of a tagged patched release (only a GitLab commit exists) means users on GIMP 3.2.2 remain exposed pending an official release. Real-world priority is moderate-to-high for organizations where GIMP is used to process untrusted image files, but limited by the mandatory user interaction requirement. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker hosts a crafted TIFF file on a malicious web page or delivers it via email or messaging platform. When the victim opens the file in GIMP 3.2.2, the TIF parser copies attacker-controlled data into a heap buffer without length validation, triggering a heap overflow that redirects execution to attacker-supplied shellcode, running with the privileges of the current user account. No public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis, but the ZDI advisory publication and available fix commit increase the likelihood of future exploit development. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Aug 20, 2026
Heap-based buffer overflow in GIMP's TIF file parser enables remote code execution when a user opens a crafted TIFF image, affecting GIMP 3.2.2. The flaw stems from missing length validation before copying attacker-controlled data into a heap buffer (CWE-122), granting full code execution in the context of the GIMP process. No public exploit code or active exploitation (CISA KEV) has been identified at time of analysis, but a fix commit is available on the GNOME GitLab repository.
RemediationAI
An upstream fix has been committed to the GNOME GitLab repository at https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gimp/-/commit/bace3e7fd54104fe6b70c1703e9b982a4770811d; however, a tagged patched release version has not been independently confirmed at time of analysis. Users should monitor the official GIMP release channel at https://www.gimp.org/downloads/ and upgrade as soon as a patched release is published. As a compensating control, users should avoid opening TIFF files from untrusted or unknown sources in GIMP until a patch is applied. Organizations can restrict access to TIFF file handling by configuring file association policies to block GIMP from opening .tif/.tiff files by default, though this has the trade-off of interrupting legitimate TIFF workflows.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) implements its own TIFF file parser, and the vulnerable code path fails to validate the length of user-supplied data before copying it into a heap-allocated buffer - a classic CWE-122 (Heap-based Buffer Overflow) pattern. TIFF is a complex, tag-driven container format where many fields specify lengths and offsets; without bounds checking, a crafted tag value can overflow the destination heap region, corrupting adjacent heap metadata or data and leading to arbitrary code execution. The affected product is identified by CPE cpe:2.3:a:gimp:gimp:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*, with EUVD specifying GIMP 3.2.2 as the confirmed vulnerable release. The bug was tracked internally as ZDI-CAN-29404 and published by the Zero Day Initiative as ZDI-26-460.
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- Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
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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 victim with no required privileges; full code execution impact; user must open malicious file (UI:R), scope unchanged.
Primary rating from Vendor (zdi).
CVSS VectorVendor: zdi
DescriptionCVE.org
GIMP TIF File Parsing Heap-based Buffer Overflow Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of GIMP. User interaction is required to exploit this vulnerability in that the target must visit a malicious page or open a malicious file.
The specific flaw exists within the parsing of TIF files. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of the length of user-supplied data prior to copying it to a heap-based buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-29404.
Executive ViewAI
GIMP 3.2.2 contains a critical heap overflow vulnerability that executes attacker code when users open malicious TIFF files, directly exposing design teams and image-processing staff to system compromise. With no vendor patch currently available, organizations using GIMP must immediately restrict file sources and implement user controls to mitigate active risk.
No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis. Interim mitigations: restrict TIFF file sources to trusted internal resources, enforce user awareness training on malicious file risks, implement email and endpoint controls to block TIFF attachments from external/untrusted sources, sandbox GIMP execution in containerized or isolated environments, and establish mandatory file-origin validation before opening any TIFF in GIMP. Organizations with development expertise may compile GIMP from the fixed commit available in GNOME GitLab, though this is not an official vendor release.
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.
A heap overflow occurs when a program writes data beyond the bounds of a buffer allocated in the heap memory region.
Remote Code Execution represents the critical moment when an attacker successfully runs arbitrary code on a target system without physical access.
Buffer overflow in the readstr_upto function in plug-ins/script-fu/tinyscheme/scheme.c in GIMP 2.6.12 and earlier, and p
Multiple stack-based buffer overflows in file-xwd.c in the X Window Dump (XWD) plug-in in GIMP 2.8.2 allow remote attack
In GIMP 2.8.22, there is a heap-based buffer overflow in read_channel_data in plug-ins/common/file-psp.c. Rated high sev
fits-io.c in GIMP before 2.8.1 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and applic
An issue in gimp_layer_invalidate_boundary of GNOME GIMP 2.10.30 allows attackers to trigger an unhandled exception via
GIMP 2.10.30 and 2.99.10 are vulnerable to Buffer Overflow. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is no a
GIMP through 2.10.2 makes g_get_tmp_dir calls to establish temporary filenames, which may result in a filename that alre
Critical remote code execution vulnerability in GIMP's ICO file parser caused by an integer overflow (CWE-190) that lack
Remote code execution in GIMP 3.0.6 allows attackers to run arbitrary code by tricking a user into opening a malicious P
Remote code execution in GIMP 3.2.0-rc1 lets attackers run arbitrary code by tricking a user into opening a malicious IC
Use-after-free vulnerability in the xcf_load_image function in app/xcf/xcf-load.c in GIMP allows remote attackers to cau
Arbitrary code execution in GIMP results from a heap-based buffer overflow in the HDR file parser, where attacker-contro
Same weakness CWE-122 – Heap-based Buffer Overflow
View allVendor StatusVendor
SUSE
Severity: Important| Product | Status |
|---|---|
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Package Hub 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Package Hub 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Package Hub 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Package Hub 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 15 SP6 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.4 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.5 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | Affected |
EUVD-2026-63456
GHSA-3pr5-5prq-x75c
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
VulDB
Exploit-DB