Description
A flaw was found in GIMP. The XCF loader can leave a dangling pointer in the linked-channels list when a linked channel is later destroyed via a selection property. Opening a crafted XCF file can cause a use-after-free in the main GIMP process, leading to a crash and potentially arbitrary code execution.
Published: 2026-10-19
Score: 7.8 High
EPSS: < 1% Very Low
KEV: No
AI Analysis

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Remediation

Vendor Workaround

Avoid opening untrusted XCF files in GIMP until an update is available. If GIMP is unused, remove the gimp package. --- CME Mitigation Guidance (2026-10-20) --- Disclaimer: The following mitigation solutions are provided as a courtesy, pending the application of an official patch. This content was generated utilizing AI tools in conjunction with data from https://cmetaxonomy.org. Customers are advised to independently evaluate and test these temporary mitigations within their own infrastructure. The highest-value action is to prevent GIMP from processing untrusted XCF files or ensure channel destruction invalidates pointers stored in linked_channels prior to dereferencing in gimp_item_list_named_new: upgrade to the fixed Gimp builds, which removes destroyed channel pointers from the linked_channels list when destroyed by PROP_SELECTION before gimp_item_list_named_new dereferences them, closing crafted XCF file. Until patched, this is a concern on any system where users open untrusted XCF files in GIMP, so avoid opening untrusted XCF files in GIMP and remove the gimp package on hosts where it is not strictly required. As a compensating measure, enable address space layout randomization to randomize GIMP process memory and hinder reliable address reuse, enforce non-executable memory protections to prevent code execution from reclaimed heap blocks, ensure GIMP binaries use full read-only relocations and position-independent execution to impede global offset table overwrites, employ control flow integrity or shadow call stacks to restrict hijacked control flow from indirect calls, leverage hardened heap allocation features such as glibc safe-linking and metadata protection to impede heap reclamation and manipulation, and deploy endpoint detection and response agents to detect anomalous behaviors such as spawned shells from the GIMP process. These controls limit blast radius and contain exploitation, but they do not fix the underlying use-after-free defect — apply the upstream patch to fully remediate. Highest-impact CME: CME-101 ASLR (Address Space Layout Randomization) (medium)

Tracking

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Advisories

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History

Tue, 20 Oct 2026 00:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

threat_severity

Important


Mon, 19 Oct 2026 21:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description A flaw was found in GIMP. The XCF loader can leave a dangling pointer in the linked-channels list when a linked channel is later destroyed via a selection property. Opening a crafted XCF file can cause a use-after-free in the main GIMP process, leading to a crash and potentially arbitrary code execution.
Title Gimp: gimp: use-after-free in xcf loader via prop_linked and prop_selection on channels
First Time appeared Redhat
Redhat enterprise Linux
Weaknesses CWE-416
CPEs cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:10
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:6
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:7
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9
Vendors & Products Redhat
Redhat enterprise Linux
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.8, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}


Subscriptions

Redhat Enterprise Linux
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: redhat

Published:

Updated: 2026-10-20T20:58:49.766Z

Reserved: 2026-10-19T13:14:38.053Z

Link: CVE-2026-112258

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

Status : Awaiting Analysis

Published: 2026-10-19T22:17:05.543

Modified: 2026-10-20T15:03:59.857

Link: CVE-2026-112258

cve-icon Redhat

Severity : Important

Publid Date: 2026-10-14T00:00:00Z

Links: CVE-2026-112258 - Bugzilla

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-10-20T07:00:13Z

Weaknesses