Technical impact
A stack buffer overflow in GIMP’s TIM image loader allows a local user to cause the application to crash by opening a specially crafted TIM file. The overflow occurs during 4BPP decoding when writing to a variable‑length array, resulting in a denial of service. No direct compromise of confidentiality or integrity is described; the primary impact is to availability of the GIMP process.
Affected Systems
The vulnerability is present in the GIMP package delivered with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, 7, 8, and 9. Any system running one of these distributions that installs GIMP and can be used by a local user is potentially affected.
Risk and Exploitability
The CVSS score of 5 indicates moderate severity. Exploitation requires local access to a user account that can launch GIMP; there is no network‑based entry point. EPSS is not available, and the vulnerability is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog, suggesting that widespread active exploitation is not currently demonstrated. The risk level, therefore, is moderate, contingent upon an attacker’s ability to introduce a malicious TIM file locally.
