CVE-2025-10934

A heap-based buffer overflow in GIMP’s X Window Dump (XWD) file parser allows an attacker to craft a malicious XWD file (or a web page that triggers opening one) that can overflow a heap buffer during parsing and lead to remote code execution in the context of the GIMP process. The flaw is tracked as CVE-2025-10934 and was disclosed by Trend Micro’s Zero Day Initiative on 29 Oct 2025; GIMP has published a fix.

Heap-based buffer overflows that occur during image-file parsing are high-risk because image libraries and editors routinely parse attacker-controlled files from email, the web, or shared drives; a successful overflow can corrupt heap metadata or function pointers and result in arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the GIMP process. Unlike a local information leak or read-only bug, this vulnerability enables control-flow hijacking (overwrite of heap-managed data or code pointers) when a user opens or previews a crafted XWD file — so an attacker only needs to get the victim to open a file or visit a page that causes the file to be loaded. The exploitability is increased when parsers perform large allocations based on unchecked length fields (the advisory describes missing validation of user-supplied lengths prior to copying into a heap buffer), which is a classic recipe for exploitable heap corruption. Because GIMP runs with the user’s privileges and is commonly installed on desktops, this makes the bug Important rather than merely Moderate.

The CVSS score(s) listed for this vulnerability do not reflect the associated product's status, and are included for informational purposes to better understand the severity of this vulnerability.

No mitigation is currently available that meets Red Hat Product Security’s standards for usability, deployment, applicability, or stability.