CVE-2025-15277
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 · uneditedFontForge GUtils SGI File Parsing Heap-based Buffer Overflow Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of FontForge. User interaction is required to exploit this vulnerability in that the target must visit a malicious page or open a malicious file. The specific flaw exists within the parsing of scanlines within SGI files. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of the length of user-supplied data prior to copying it to a heap-based buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-27920.
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 confidenceFontForge contains a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in its GUtils library when parsing SGI image files. The flaw exists in the scanline parsing logic, where the application fails to properly validate the length of user-supplied data before copying it into a heap-allocated buffer. An attacker can exploit this by crafting a malicious SGI file to achieve arbitrary code execution in the context of the current process.
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= 20251009CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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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Check if FontForge is installedRun 'fontforge --version' or check for fontforge package via system package manager (dpkg, rpm, brew, etc.)Affected if FontForge is not installed on the system
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Determine the installed FontForge versionRun 'fontforge --version' to retrieve the version number, or inspect the package metadata via the system package managerAffected if The version displayed is exactly 20251009
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Verify SGI image file parsing capabilityAttempt to open an SGI format image file with FontForge, or check for SGI-related library files in the FontForge installation directoryAffected if FontForge can load and parse SGI image files
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Confirm the GUtils library is in useCheck FontForge binary or library dependencies for GUtils-related components, or inspect which image loaders are activeAffected if The GUtils library handles image parsing in this FontForge installation
A system is affected if FontForge version 20251009 is installed and can process SGI image files, as this specific version contains the vulnerable scanline parsing code in GUtils.
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 dataAvoid opening untrusted or unverified SGI files with FontForge until a security patch is available. The vulnerability can be remediated by implementing proper bounds checking and length validation on scanline data during SGI file parsing.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-15277 — 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-2025-15277 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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