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GimpApplication

CVE-2010-4541

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2011-01-07
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Stack-based buffer overflow in the loadit function in plug-ins/common/sphere-designer.c in the SPHERE DESIGNER plugin in GIMP 2.6.11 allows user-assisted remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via a long "Number of lights" field in a plugin configuration file. NOTE: it may be uncommon to obtain a GIMP plugin configuration file from an untrusted source that is separate from the distribution of the plugin itself.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Stack-based buffer overflow in the loadit function of GIMP's sphere-designer plugin (plug-ins/common/sphere-designer.c). The vulnerability occurs when parsing a plugin configuration file with an excessively long 'Number of lights' field, which overflows a stack-allocated buffer and can allow arbitrary code execution or cause application crash.

MitigationAvoid opening GIMP plugin configuration files from untrusted or unknown sources; update GIMP to a version beyond 2.6.11 that includes the patched sphere-designer plugin.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
GimpApplication
Affected:= 2.6.11

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
M
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify GIMP version
    Run 'gimp --version' or check your installed package manager for GIMP version. On Windows, check Help > About GIMP. On Linux, run 'dpkg -l | grep gimp' or 'rpm -q gimp'.
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 2.6.11
  2. Locate the sphere-designer plugin
    Search for 'sphere-designer' file in GIMP's plug-ins directory. Common paths: ~/.gimp-2.6/plug-ins/, /usr/lib/gimp/2.0/plug-ins/, or C:\Program Files\GIMP-2.6\plug-ins\. Run 'find /usr -name "*sphere*" 2>/dev/null' on Linux.
    Affected if The sphere-designer plugin file exists and is accessible to your GIMP installation
  3. Check for recent sphere-designer configuration files
    Search for .ssc files (sphere-designer configuration) in your home directory and recent folders. Run 'find ~ -name "*.ssc" 2>/dev/null' on Linux or search for .ssc files on Windows.
    Affected if You have opened or currently have .ssc configuration files from sphere-designer that could contain a crafted 'Number of lights' field
  4. Review application logs for crashes
    Check GIMP debug output, system logs, or crash reports around the time of opening sphere-designer config files. Look for segfaults or buffer overflow indicators in ~/.gimp-2.6/debug.log or system event logs.
    Affected if GIMP has crashed or produced error messages related to sphere-designer when loading configuration files

You are affected if you are running exactly GIMP 2.6.11, have the sphere-designer plugin installed, and have opened a specially crafted sphere-designer configuration file with an overly long 'Number of lights' field.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Avoid opening GIMP plugin configuration files from untrusted or unknown sources; update GIMP to a version beyond 2.6.11 that includes the patched sphere-designer plugin.

Recommended fix High confidence

GIMP 2.10.x (stable) or at minimum GIMP 2.6.12

  1. Update your system's package repository metadata
  2. Upgrade GIMP to the latest available version using your system's package manager (e.g., apt-get update && apt-get upgrade gimp, zypper update gimp, or yum update gimp)
  3. Alternatively, download and install GIMP 2.10.x or later from the official GIMP website (https://www.gimp.org/downloads/) or your distribution's official repositories
  4. Verify the installed version matches or exceeds 2.6.12 by running: gimp --version
  5. Restart GIMP if it was running during the upgrade
Caveat GIMP 2.10.x has UI changes and may have plugin compatibility differences; ensure custom plugins are compatible with the new version

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Gimp Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2010-4541 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data