FontForge XBM File Parser integer overflow

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, was found in FontForge. This impacts an unknown function of the component XBM File Parser. Such manipulation leads to integer overflow. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2025-15278. The attack can be launched remotely. No exploit exists.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in FontForge (affected version not known). It has been rated as critical. Affected by this issue is some unknown functionality of the component XBM File Parser. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a integer overflow vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-190. The product performs a calculation that can produce an integer overflow or wraparound, when the logic assumes that the resulting value will always be larger than the original value. This can introduce other weaknesses when the calculation is used for resource management or execution control. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

FontForge GUtils XBM File Parsing Integer Overflow Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of FontForge. 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 pixels within XBM files. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of user-supplied data, which can result in an integer overflow before allocating a buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-27865.

The advisory is shared for download at zerodayinitiative.com. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2025-15278. The exploitation is known to be easy. The attack may be launched remotely. No form of authentication is required for exploitation. Successful exploitation requires user interaction by the victim. There are neither technical details nor an exploit publicly available. The current price for an exploit might be approx. USD $0-$5k (estimation calculated on 01/01/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 281489 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2025-15278), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

There is no information about possible countermeasures known. It may be suggested to replace the affected object with an alternative product.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (281489) and EUVD (EUVD-2025-205888). Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.

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• FontForge

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Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.

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