CVE-2026-62438 Red Hat CVE debrief

Who should care

Defenders and IT administrators responsible for managing GIMP installations, particularly in environments where users frequently handle image files from untrusted sources, should be aware of this vulnerability. They should assess their exposure and take necessary actions to mitigate the risk.

Why it matters

Defenders should care about CVE-2026-62438 because it allows for potential Denial of Service (DoS) or disclosure of sensitive memory contents in GIMP. The vulnerability requires user interaction to open or preview a specially crafted file, and its exploitation could lead to unexpected process termination or sensitive information disclosure. Defenders should verify GIMP installations, monitor for updates, and educate users about the risks associated with handling files from untrusted sources.

• Potential Denial of Service (DoS) due to unexpected termination of the plug-in process
• Potential disclosure of sensitive memory contents

Technical summary

The vulnerability in GIMP arises from an integer overflow when calculating image dimensions during file decompression of specially crafted Bohemia Interactive (PAA) texture files. This leads to an undersized memory buffer allocation, and subsequent processing reads past the buffer boundary, causing the plug-in process to terminate unexpectedly. This could potentially allow for Denial of Service (DoS) or disclosure of sensitive memory contents.

Defensive priority

Defenders should prioritize verifying GIMP installations, especially in environments where users frequently handle image files from untrusted sources. They should also monitor for updates from the GIMP project and apply patches as soon as they are available.

Recommended defensive actions

• Verify GIMP installations and ensure they are up-to-date
• Monitor for updates from the GIMP project and apply patches promptly
• Educate users about the risks associated with opening or previewing files from untrusted sources
• 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 entry provide details about the vulnerability, including its CVSS score and vector. Additional information is available from Red Hat's security advisory and the GIMP project's issue tracker.

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.