CVE-2026-106067 in Red Hat
Summary
by MITRE • 10/07/2026
A heap-based buffer overflow was found in GIMP’s Hot color filter plug-in. For very large images, a pixel buffer is allocated using overflowing 32-bit width * height (and related) arithmetic while the filter’s pixel access path uses the true image size, after integer overflow in the allocation size
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/07/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-6758 represents a critical heap-based buffer overflow within the GNU Image Manipulation Program, specifically affecting its Hot color filter plug-in. This flaw stems from improper handling of arithmetic operations when calculating memory requirements for image processing tasks. In modern software development, particularly in graphics manipulation applications that deal with large datasets such as high-resolution images, accurate calculation of buffer sizes is paramount to prevent memory corruption issues. The specific issue arises during the allocation phase where dimensions like width and height are multiplied together along with other related factors to determine the total size needed for a pixel buffer. When dealing with very large images, these multiplications can exceed the maximum value representable by a 32-bit integer, leading to an integer overflow condition.
When an integer overflow occurs in this context, the calculated allocation size wraps around to a significantly smaller number than intended due to modulo arithmetic inherent in fixed-width integers. Consequently, the system allocates a heap buffer that is far too small to hold the actual pixel data of the image being processed. However, subsequent operations within the filter’s execution path do not rely on this truncated allocation size but instead proceed using the true dimensions of the input image. This discrepancy creates a dangerous situation where write operations exceed the bounds of the allocated memory region. As the application attempts to populate or manipulate pixels based on the actual image size, it writes data beyond the end of the heap buffer, corrupting adjacent memory structures and potentially overwriting critical control data such as function pointers or object headers stored in nearby allocations.
This type of vulnerability is classified under CWE-190 Integer Overflow or Wraparound, which describes scenarios where arithmetic operations produce results that cannot be represented by the target integer type, leading to unexpected behavior. Furthermore, because the overflow allows for arbitrary write access beyond allocated boundaries, it falls squarely into the domain of CWE-787 Out-of-bounds Write. The operational impact of such a flaw is severe, as heap buffer overflows are among the most exploitable vulnerability classes in existence. An attacker who can trick a user into opening a specially crafted image file with specific dimensions could trigger this overflow during normal processing workflows. Successful exploitation typically leads to application crashes causing denial of service conditions, but more critically, it enables remote code execution if an adversary carefully crafts input data to overwrite return addresses or function pointers on the heap stack.
The attack vector for this vulnerability is primarily local through file manipulation rather than network-based attacks, aligning with MITRE ATT&CK technique T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution where malicious files are used to execute code when opened by a vulnerable application. The severity of the impact depends heavily on whether the GIMP installation has appropriate sandboxing or security mitigations enabled such as Address Space Layout Randomization and Data Execution Prevention, which can make exploitation more difficult but do not eliminate the underlying memory corruption risk entirely. Users running versions of GIMP prior to 2.10.8 are particularly susceptible since these releases contain the vulnerable code path in their default plug-in suite without patches addressing this arithmetic miscalculation.
Mitigation strategies for organizations and individual users involve immediate updates to patched versions of the software where developers have corrected the integer overflow logic by using larger data types such as 64-bit integers for dimension calculations or implementing explicit bounds checking before memory allocation. Additionally, adopting secure coding practices that validate input dimensions against maximum allowable limits prior to performing arithmetic operations can prevent similar vulnerabilities in future developments. Security teams should also consider deploying application whitelisting solutions and monitoring for unusual process behavior indicative of heap exploitation attempts, although patching remains the most effective defense against this class of memory corruption flaws. Regular vulnerability scanning focused on installed plug-ins and third-party extensions ensures that known issues like CVE-2019-6758 are identified and remediated promptly to maintain system integrity.