Enterprise LinuxOperating system · Redhat
CVE-2026-40915
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 · uneditedA flaw was found in GIMP. A remote attacker could exploit an integer overflow vulnerability in the FITS image loader by providing a specially crafted FITS file. This integer overflow leads to a zero-byte memory allocation, which is then subjected to a heap buffer overflow when processing pixel data. Successful exploitation could result in a denial of service (DoS) or potentially 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 · moderate confidenceGIMP contains an integer overflow vulnerability in its FITS image loader. When processing a specially crafted FITS file, the integer overflow causes a zero-byte memory allocation, which is then followed by a heap buffer overflow during pixel data processing, potentially allowing arbitrary code execution.
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
= 6.0= 7.0= 8.0= 9.0all versionsCVSS 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:3.1/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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Verify GIMP is installedRun 'gimp --version' or check for GIMP in your installed packages (e.g., 'rpm -qa | grep -i gimp' on RHEL-based systems)Affected if GIMP is present on the system
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Check installed GIMP versionRun 'gimp --version' to get the exact version number, then compare against any fixed versions released by your distribution or the GIMP projectAffected if The installed version matches an affected version range (note: 'all versions' are listed as affected)
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Confirm FITS file format support is enabledCheck if the FITS plugin/module is loaded. Look for 'fits' in GIMP's plugin directory (commonly /usr/lib/gimp/*/plug-ins/ or ~/.gimp-*/plug-ins/) or check GIMP's supported file formats in Help > About > File FormatsAffected if FITS support is present and enabled in the GIMP installation
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Identify FITS-related files on systemSearch for FITS-related files: 'find /usr -name "*fits*" -o -name "*FITS*" 2>/dev/null' and check for any FITS loader pluginsAffected if FITS-related plugins or files exist in the GIMP installation
If GIMP is installed with FITS file format support enabled, the environment is affected since all versions of GIMP are listed as vulnerable to this integer overflow flaw.
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 to the latest version containing the security fix. Alternatively, disable or avoid opening untrusted FITS files in GIMP until the patch is applied.
Fix this in Enterprise Linux
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation10.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $7,392.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-40915 — 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-2026-40915 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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