CVE-2026-108093 in GIMP
Summary
by MITRE • 10/09/2026
A flaw was found in GIMP. The XCF loader processes image-simulation-intent and image-simulation-bpc parasites without ensuring the parasite data is present before dereferencing it. Opening a specially crafted XCF file with a zero-size simulation parasite can cause a NULL pointer dereference and crash the GIMP application.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/09/2026
The vulnerability identified in GNU Image Manipulation Program, commonly known as GIMP, represents a critical input validation failure within its native XCF file format loader. This flaw specifically affects the handling of image-simulation-intent and image-simulation-bpc parasites, which are metadata structures used to store color management information related to simulation intent and bits per channel settings. The core technical deficiency lies in the absence of a null pointer check before dereferencing these parasite data pointers. When GIMP processes an XCF file containing specially crafted entries where the simulated parasite is defined but contains zero-size or empty data, the application attempts to access memory addresses that have not been properly allocated or initialized for this specific context. This logical error results in a NULL pointer dereference, causing the application to terminate abruptly due to a segmentation fault.
From a technical perspective, this issue classifies as CWE-476, which denotes a NULL Pointer Dereference vulnerability. The root cause is attributed to insufficient validation of input data structures during the parsing phase of the XCF loader. In complex file formats like XCF, parasites serve as extensions that allow for additional metadata storage beyond standard image pixels and layers. While these are generally safe when populated with valid data, the lack of defensive programming practices regarding empty or malformed parasite entries creates a predictable crash vector. An attacker can exploit this by constructing an XCF file where the header indicates the presence of simulation parasites but the actual payload is either missing or explicitly set to zero length. When GIMP's parser encounters these structures during the loading process, it proceeds to dereference pointers associated with them without verifying their validity first.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is primarily a denial of service against users who open maliciously crafted files. Since GIMP is widely used for professional and amateur image editing, encountering such a file can lead to immediate application crashes, resulting in the loss of unsaved work if the user has not recently saved their project state. While the current manifestation is limited to crashing the local instance of the software without evidence of remote code execution or arbitrary memory write capabilities, it demonstrates a significant weakness in the robustness of the file parsing engine. In security terms, this aligns with ATT&CK technique T1496, Resource Hijacking, specifically under the sub-technique for Denial of Service via application crashes. Although not directly exploitable for privilege escalation or data exfiltration in its current form, such vulnerabilities often serve as stepping stones for more complex attacks if combined with other memory corruption issues within the same codebase.
Mitigation strategies should focus on both immediate patching and long-term defensive coding practices. The primary remediation involves updating GIMP to a version where this NULL pointer dereference has been corrected by adding explicit checks to ensure that parasite data pointers are non-null before any attempt is made to access or process them. For organizations deploying GIMP in shared environments, it is advisable to restrict the ability of users to open untrusted XCF files from external sources until patches are applied. Additionally, developers should implement stricter input validation protocols for all file format parsers within the application suite. This includes verifying not only the presence but also the integrity and size constraints of metadata structures like parasites before dereferencing them. Regular security audits focusing on memory safety in C-based applications can help identify similar patterns where pointer validity is assumed rather than verified, thereby reducing the attack surface for future vulnerabilities.