Enterprise LinuxOperating system · Redhat
CVE-2013-1978
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 · uneditedHeap-based buffer overflow in the read_xwd_cols function in file-xwd.c in the X Window Dump (XWD) plug-in in GIMP 2.6.9 and earlier allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code via an X Window System (XWD) image dump with more colors than color map entries.
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 confidenceHeap-based buffer overflow in GIMP's XWD file parser (read_xwd_cols function) occurs when processing X Window Dump images that declare more colors than actually exist in the color map, causing the parser to write beyond allocated heap memory bounds.
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
Enterprise LinuxOperating system
= 5.0= 6.0<= 2.6.9CVSS 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
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify GIMP is installedRun 'gimp --version' or check package manager (rpm -q gimp or dpkg -l gimp)Affected if GIMP is installed and version is 2.6.9 or earlier
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Confirm installed GIMP versionCompare the version output from step 1 against the affected range: GIMP <= 2.6.9Affected if Version is 2.6.9 or lower on RHEL 5.0 or 6.0, or any GIMP version 2.6.9 or below
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Identify XWD file support moduleLocate the file-xwd.c or file-xwd plug-in in your GIMP installation (typically in lib/gimp/2.0/plug-ins/ or equivalent)Affected if The XWD loader plug-in is present in the installation
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Check for active XWD file processing capabilityInspect whether the XWD format is enabled in GIMP's file loaders - look for XWD in GIMP's plug-in registry or file open dialogsAffected if XWD file format support is enabled and available for processing images
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Verify Red Hat Enterprise Linux version if applicableRun 'cat /etc/redhat-release' or 'rpm -q redhat-release' to confirm RHEL 5.0 or 6.0Affected if System runs RHEL 5.0 or 6.0 with affected GIMP version
A system is affected if GIMP version 2.6.9 or earlier is installed (or RHEL 5.0/6.0 with any GIMP at the affected versions) and the XWD file format loader is present and enabled for processing images.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
From vendor dataUpgrade GIMP beyond version 2.6.9, or apply a patch to file-xwd.c that validates the color count against available color map entries before copying color data.
Fix this in Enterprise Linux
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2013-1978 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2013-1978 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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
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