Gimp: integer overflow in file-fits plugin causes a heap-based buffer overflow on crafted fits images
Summary
A flaw was found in the file-fits plugin in GIMP. When processing a FITS image file, the plugin calculates memory allocation sizes using signed 32-bit integers for width and height. If a crafted file sets both values to large values, their product exceeds 2^31 and overflows, resulting in an undersized heap-based buffer allocation. This integer overflow issue results in a heap-based buffer overflow when cfitsio subsequently writes a full row of pixels in the buffer, causing memory corruption, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution or a denial of service. Affected products named by the advisory: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.
What this means
In plain English
A flaw was found in the file-fits plugin in GIMP. When processing a FITS image file, the plugin calculates memory allocation sizes using signed 32-bit integers for width and height. If a crafted file sets both values to large values, their product exceeds 2^31 and overflows, resulting in an undersized heap-based buffer allocation. This integer overflow issue results in a heap-based buffer overflow when cfitsio subsequently writes a full row of pixels in the buffer, causing memory corruption, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution or a denial of service. Successful exploitation can let an attacker run code in the security context of the affected service or device.
Recommended action
The parsed official advisory does not currently specify a fixed release, mitigation, or workaround. Review the linked vendor advisory for the latest guidance before making changes.
Rewritten locally from the scraped official advisory data above; no generative API is used. The vendor advisory is authoritative.
Affected versions
No affected-version range was extracted from the source record. The vendor advisory is authoritative — check it before change work.
Official advisory · medium-confidence parse· fetched 3 hours ago·verify at source
Fixed versions
No fixed release is recorded yet. That does not prove no patch exists — confirm against the vendor advisory.
Official advisory · medium-confidence parse· fetched 3 hours ago·verify at source
Mitigation
The source record does not include mitigation steps. That is not a statement that no fix exists — read the vendor advisory below for the authoritative guidance.
Official advisory · medium-confidence parse· fetched 3 hours ago·verify at source
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