CVE-2026-97185 Red Hat CVE debrief

Who should care

Defenders responsible for GIMP installations, particularly in environments where users may load preset files from untrusted sources, should assess potential exposure and prioritize remediation.

Why it matters

CVE-2026-97185 is a high-severity vulnerability in GIMP that requires verification of exposure and remediation. Defenders should prioritize assessing potential impact and implementing compensating controls.

• Potential system crashes or instability
• Possible arbitrary code execution
• Memory corruption and data integrity risks
• Verification of affected versions and remediation required

Technical summary

The GIMP plug-in does not properly validate vector indices before writing into fixed-size arrays when processing a specially crafted GIMPressionist preset file. This can lead to an out-of-bounds write, corrupting memory. The vulnerability has a high CVSS score of 7.8 and is classified as HIGH severity. The CVE record and NVD entry provide details on the vulnerability, but additional verification is needed to confirm affected versions and remediation. Defenders should prioritize verifying exposure, assessing potential impact, and implementing compensating controls.

Defensive priority

Defenders should prioritize verifying exposure, assessing potential impact, and implementing compensating controls.

Recommended defensive actions

• Verify GIMP version and configuration for potential exposure
• Assess impact and prioritize remediation
• Implement compensating controls and monitor for suspicious activity
• 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 on the vulnerability, but additional verification is needed to confirm affected versions and remediation. The GIMP plug-in does not properly validate vector indices before writing into fixed-size arrays when processing a specially crafted GIMPressionist preset file. This can lead to an out-of-bounds write, corrupting memory. The vulnerability requires verification of affected versions and remediation from official sources. The CVSS score is 7.8, indicating a high severity vulnerability.

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.