GIMP ICO File Parser heap-based overflow

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical was found in GIMP. This vulnerability affects unknown code of the component ICO File Parser. Executing a manipulation can lead to heap-based overflow. This vulnerability appears as CVE-2026-0797. The attack may be performed from remote. There is no available exploit.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability has been found in GIMP (version unknown) and classified as critical. This vulnerability affects an unknown function of the component ICO File Parser. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a heap-based overflow vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-122. A heap overflow condition is a buffer overflow, where the buffer that can be overwritten is allocated in the heap portion of memory, generally meaning that the buffer was allocated using a routine such as malloc(). As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

GIMP ICO 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 ICO 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-28599.

The advisory is shared for download at zerodayinitiative.com. This vulnerability was named CVE-2026-0797. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be initiated remotely. No form of authentication is required for a successful 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 03/23/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 298749 (SUSE SLED15 / SLES15 / openSUSE 15 Security Update : gimp (SUSE-SU-2026:0442-1)), 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 (298749) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2026-0279). Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.

Affected

• Debian Linux
• Amazon Linux 2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• RESF Rocky Linux
• Open Source GIMP

Productinfo

Type

• Image Processing Software

Name

• GIMP

License

• open-source

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Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.

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