CVE-2025-48797: GIMP Buffer Overflow Vulnerability

CVE-2025-48797 Overview

A heap buffer overflow vulnerability has been identified in GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) when processing specially crafted TGA (Truevision Graphics Adapter) image files. This memory corruption flaw allows an attacker to craft malicious TGA files that, when opened by a user, can trigger serious memory errors within GIMP, potentially leading to application crashes and arbitrary code execution through heap buffer overflow conditions.

Critical Impact

Opening a maliciously crafted TGA image file can cause GIMP to experience heap buffer overflow conditions, potentially allowing attackers to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the user running the application.

Affected Products

• GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) - versions with TGA file processing
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux distributions with affected GIMP packages
• Debian-based distributions with vulnerable GIMP installations

Discovery Timeline

• May 27, 2025 - CVE-2025-48797 published to NVD
• November 3, 2025 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-48797

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-122 (Heap-based Buffer Overflow), a critical memory corruption issue that occurs when data is written beyond the boundaries of a heap-allocated buffer. In the context of GIMP's TGA file parsing functionality, the application fails to properly validate input parameters or buffer boundaries when processing malformed TGA image headers or pixel data.

The local attack vector requires user interaction—specifically, convincing a victim to open a malicious TGA file. Once the crafted file is processed, GIMP's image parsing routines can be exploited to write data past the allocated heap buffer boundaries. This memory corruption can overwrite adjacent heap metadata or application data structures, leading to unpredictable behavior including crashes or potential code execution.

Root Cause

The root cause lies in GIMP's TGA image file loader, which contains insufficient bounds checking during the parsing and decoding of TGA image data. When processing TGA files with malformed header values or unexpected pixel data configurations, the application allocates memory buffers based on potentially attacker-controlled dimensions without adequately validating that subsequent read and write operations remain within those buffer boundaries. This allows an attacker to craft a TGA file that causes GIMP to write beyond the heap-allocated buffer during image processing.

Attack Vector

The attack requires local access and user interaction to succeed. An attacker would craft a malicious TGA image file containing specially constructed header values or pixel data designed to trigger the heap buffer overflow. The attack scenario typically involves:

1. The attacker creates a malicious TGA file with crafted header fields or pixel data
2. The victim receives the file through email, downloads, or file sharing
3. The victim opens the TGA file using GIMP for viewing or editing
4. GIMP's TGA parsing routines process the malformed data
5. The heap buffer overflow occurs, potentially allowing code execution in the context of the GIMP process

The vulnerability does not require elevated privileges, but successful exploitation can lead to confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts on the affected system.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-48797

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected GIMP crashes when opening TGA image files from untrusted sources
• GIMP process memory corruption or segmentation fault errors
• Presence of suspicious TGA files with unusual file sizes or malformed headers
• Detection of heap corruption patterns in GIMP crash dumps

Detection Strategies

• Deploy endpoint detection solutions to monitor for abnormal memory access patterns in GIMP processes
• Configure file integrity monitoring to alert on TGA files arriving from external sources
• Implement application-level monitoring to detect GIMP crashes associated with specific file operations
• Use sandboxing technologies to isolate GIMP when processing files from untrusted sources

Monitoring Recommendations

• Monitor system logs for repeated GIMP application crashes or memory-related errors
• Track file access patterns for TGA files opened by GIMP, especially from email attachments or downloads
• Enable crash reporting and analysis to identify patterns consistent with exploitation attempts
• Deploy SentinelOne's behavioral AI to detect memory corruption exploitation techniques targeting image processing applications

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-48797

Immediate Actions Required

• Update GIMP to the latest patched version available for your distribution
• Apply vendor-provided security patches from Red Hat, Debian, or other distribution maintainers
• Avoid opening TGA files from untrusted or unknown sources until patches are applied
• Consider temporarily disabling TGA file association with GIMP if the vulnerability cannot be immediately patched

Patch Information

Multiple vendors have released security updates addressing this vulnerability:

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux: Security errata RHSA-2025:9162, RHSA-2025:9165, RHSA-2025:9308, RHSA-2025:9309, RHSA-2025:9310, RHSA-2025:9314, RHSA-2025:9315, RHSA-2025:9316, RHSA-2025:9501, and RHSA-2025:9569
• Debian LTS: Security announcement for October 2025
• GNOME GIMP: Issue tracked in GNOME GitLab Issue #11822

Additional details available at Red Hat CVE Details and Red Hat Bugzilla Report #2368558.

Workarounds

• Use alternative image viewers or editors for TGA files from untrusted sources until patching is complete
• Implement network-level filtering to scan incoming TGA files for malformed content
• Run GIMP in a sandboxed environment or virtual machine when handling potentially untrusted image files
• Configure email gateways to quarantine TGA file attachments pending review

# Update GIMP on Red Hat/CentOS/Fedora systems
sudo dnf update gimp

# Update GIMP on Debian/Ubuntu systems
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade gimp

# Verify installed GIMP version after update
gimp --version