GIMP file-pcx plugin integer overflow

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as problematic has been found in GIMP. Impacted is an unknown function of the component file-pcx plugin. This manipulation causes integer overflow. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2026-78465. The attack can only be executed locally. There is no exploit available.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in GIMP (version now known). It has been declared as problematic. Affected by this vulnerability is some unknown processing of the component file-pcx plugin. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a integer overflow vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is 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. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

A flaw was found in the file-pcx plugin in GIMP, affecting 32-bit builds only. When processing a PCX image file, the plugin calculates memory allocation sizes based on the image dimensions and the number of color planes. If a crafted file sets the number of planes to 4 alongside sufficiently large dimensions, the calculation exceeds the 32-bit integer limit and overflows, resulting in an undersized heap-based buffer allocation. This integer overflow issue results in a heap-based buffer overflow when the plugin subsequently writes image data into the undersized buffer, causing memory corruption, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution or a denial of service.

The advisory is shared at access.redhat.com. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-78465 since 08/24/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. An attack has to be approached locally. It demands that the victim is doing some kind of user interaction. Neither technical details nor an exploit are publicly available.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 339188 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2026-78465), 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 (339188) and EUVD (EUVD-2026-64935). Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

• Image Processing Software

Name

• GIMP

License

• open-source

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Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

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