CVE-2026-40916 Red Hat CVE debrief

Who should care

Defenders responsible for GIMP installations, particularly in local user environments, should assess exposure and prioritize patching. This includes reviewing GIMP versions and patch levels, and implementing compensating controls to detect and prevent exploitation. The vulnerability's impact is particularly relevant in local user environments, and defenders should prioritize patching GIMP installations to prevent exploitation.

Why it matters

Defenders should care about CVE-2026-40916 because it allows a local user to cause a Denial of Service (DoS) in GIMP through a stack buffer overflow vulnerability. This vulnerability requires verification of GIMP versions and patch levels, and its impact is particularly relevant in local user environments.

• Potential Denial of Service (DoS) attacks through specially crafted TIM image files
• Need for verification of GIMP versions and patch levels
• Potential impact on local user environments

Technical summary

A flaw was found in GIMP, specifically a stack buffer overflow vulnerability in the TIM image loader's 4BPP decoding path. This vulnerability allows a local user to cause a Denial of Service (DoS) by opening a specially crafted TIM image file, which causes the application to crash due to an unconditional overflow when writing to a variable-length array. The vulnerability has a CVSS score of 5 and is classified as MEDIUM severity. Defenders should care about CVE-2026-40916 because it allows a local user to cause a Denial of Service (DoS) in GIMP through a stack buffer overflow vulnerability.

Defensive priority

Medium-priority defensive actions are recommended to address this vulnerability.

Recommended defensive actions

• Assess exposure and prioritize patching for GIMP installations
• Implement compensating controls to detect and prevent exploitation
• Monitor systems for potential DoS attacks
• Review compensating controls for exposed systems while remediation is scheduled and verified
• Check relevant monitoring, detection, and logs for exposed assets that need extra review
• Track exceptions, retest remediated assets, and close the item only after evidence is documented
• Confirm whether affected product deployments exist in managed environments and assign an owner for follow-up

Evidence notes

The CVE record and NVD vulnerability detail page provide information on the vulnerability, including its description, CVSS score, and affected products. However, the details on the specific versions of GIMP affected and the exact nature of the vulnerability are limited. Further verification is needed to assess exposure and prioritize patching for GIMP installations. The vulnerability allows a local user to cause a Denial of Service (DoS) through a stack buffer overflow in the TIM image loader's 4BPP decoding path.

Sources and references

Methodology and review provenance

AI-assisted synthesis based on stored public vulnerability evidence. System validation, approval state, and publication status do not by themselves establish human review of this revision. PatchSiren helps prioritize defensive review and does not prove exposure or remediation on any system.