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Stack-based Buffer OverflowWeakness · CWE-121

CVE-2025-48796

HIGH · 7.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-05-27
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
73/100
Remediation priority · Elevated

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
A flaw was found in GIMP. The GIMP ani_load_image() function is vulnerable to a stack-based overflow. If a user opens.ANI files, GIMP may be used to store more information than the capacity allows. This flaw allows a malicious ANI file to trigger arbitrary code execution.

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

GIMP's ani_load_image() function contains a stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability when parsing ANI (animated cursor) files. A malicious ANI file with oversized data can overwrite stack memory, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution when opened by a user.

MitigationAvoid opening untrusted ANI files in GIMP until a patch is available. Alternatively, use GIMP in a sandboxed or virtualized environment to limit the impact of potential exploitation.

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

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 checks

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

  1. Confirm GIMP is installed
    Run 'gimp --version' or check your package manager for installed gimp packages
    Affected if GIMP is installed on the system
  2. Identify installed GIMP version
    Execute 'gimp --version' and note the version number displayed
    Affected if The installed version matches any GIMP version that supports ANI file loading (most modern versions)
  3. Verify ANI file format support is present
    Check if GIMP can open ANI files by running 'gimp --help' or inspecting file format support; ANI loading is typically built into the ani_load_image() function
    Affected if ANI file format support is enabled in the GIMP installation
  4. Check for presence of ANI files in accessible directories
    Search for .ani files on the system using 'find / -name "*.ani" 2>/dev/null' or inspect user-downloaded files
    Affected if User has access to or may open untrusted ANI files in GIMP

You are affected if GIMP is installed with ANI file loading capability and a user could open a crafted malicious ANI file in GIMP, as the stack buffer overflow occurs during ANI parsing regardless of GIMP version.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Avoid opening untrusted ANI files in GIMP until a patch is available. Alternatively, use GIMP in a sandboxed or virtualized environment to limit the impact of potential exploitation.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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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-2025-48796 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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