What is CVE-2026-78475?

CVE-2026-78475 is Gimp: unbounded stack vla and 21-byte stack over-read in pix (esm) loader. The supplied enrichment data classifies it as Memory Corruption mapped to CWE-125 Out-of-bounds Read.

Which versions are affected?

Affected product and version evidence is listed in the product table above. Current public advisories should be checked for exact version scope before patch targeting is finalized.

Is there active exploitation?

Active exploitation is not confirmed from current sources for CVE-2026-78475. If exploitation is not confirmed from current sources, teams should document that status and continue monitoring KEV, vendor, and telemetry updates.

No. CVE-2026-78475 is not listed in CISA KEV in the supplied enrichment data. KEV status should be monitored because it can change after initial disclosure or after exploitation becomes publicly confirmed.

Is there a public exploit?

A public PoC is not confirmed from current sources for CVE-2026-78475. Public exploit or PoC availability should raise triage priority, especially for exposed or business-critical systems.

How can defenders detect it?

Start with Not reported where available. Look for vulnerability-class behavior, product errors, suspicious authentication events, exploit probes, and abnormal process activity based only on evidence that applies to the affected product.

How should teams prioritize it?

Prioritize CVE-2026-78475 using CVSS 6.1, EPSS 0%, KEV status, public PoC status, and asset exposure. Internet-facing, privileged, or business-critical deployments should be handled first.

Are workarounds available?

The supplied mitigation guidance says to apply vendor patches and restrict external exposure until fixed. Fixed-version evidence is listed in the mitigation section above.

Which threat actors are linked publicly?

No public threat actor linkage is confirmed from current sources. Do not attribute exploitation to a threat actor unless the source evidence explicitly supports that linkage.

What should be done in the next 24 hours?

Identify exposed assets running affected vendor/product/version combinations. Prioritize based on EPSS, PoC availability, and external exposure. Search available logs for exploit probes, errors, authentication anomalies, or suspicious child processes matching the vulnerability class. Open remediation tickets with affected assets, owners, evidence status, and detection coverage so decisions are traceable.

mediumMemory Corruption

CVE-2026-78475

CVE-2026-78475 — Gimp: unbounded stack vla and 21-byte stack over-read in pix (esm) loader

A flaw was found in the file-pix (ESM) plugin in GIMP. When processing a specially crafted PIX image file, the plugin allocates a Variable-Length Array (VLA) on the stack without proper bounds checking, causing an unbounded stack allocation followed by a 21-byte stack over-read. This can result in a denial of service due to stack exhaustion and a limited information disclosure of stack memory contents into an intermediate file.

Published Aug 24, 2026Updated Aug 24, 2026Sources: NVD, Red Hat (CNA), GitHub, GitHub Security Advisory, Red Hat (VEX), SOCRadar CTI

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the scoring sources call it.

Exploitation

Unreported

no source claims exploitation

EPSS

ahead of 0% of scored CVEs

Affects

Red Hat

4 products listed

CVSS base

6.1

medium

Remediation

The vendor's own words where we have them.

Upgrade Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 to a fixed release. Apply vendor patches per advisory and restrict external exposure of the affected component until patched.

Red Hat VEX · CVE-2026-78475

fixed0affected3not affected29

workaround: To mitigate this vulnerability, do not open PIX files from untrusted sources with GIMP.

none_available: Fix deferred

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record's own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found.

Identify exposed assets running affected vendor/product/version combinations.
Prioritize based on EPSS, PoC availability, and external exposure.
Search available logs for exploit probes, errors, authentication anomalies, or suspicious child processes matching the vulnerability class.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and version as the advisories word them.

Vendor	Product	Versions	Status
Red Hat	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6	—	Patched
Red Hat	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7	—	Patched
Red Hat	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8	—	Patched
Red Hat	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9	—	Vulnerable

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Availability

High

Confidentiality

Low

Integrity

None

Scope

Unchanged

Attack Complexity

Low

Attack Vector

Local

Privileges Req

None

User Interaction

Required

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

Score	Version	Severity	Expl.	Impact	Source
6.1	CVSS 3.1	medium	1.8	4.2	NVD, Red Hat (CNA), GHSA, Red Hat (VEX)

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:H

What this weakness leads to

MITRE's own consequences and mitigations for the weakness class — the authority's wording, not guidance derived from the CVSS vector.

MITRE

CWE-125 · Out-of-bounds Read

Read Memory
Bypass Protection Mechanism

Mitigation: Assume all input is malicious. Use an accept known good input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does. When performing input validation, consider all potentially relevant properties, including length, type of input, the full range of acceptable values, missing or extra inputs, syntax, consistency across related fields, and conformance to business rules. As an example of business rule logic, boat may be syntactically valid because it only contains alphanumeric characters, but it is not valid if the input is only expected to contain colors such as red or blue. Do not rely exclusively on looking for malicious or malformed inputs. This is likely to miss at least one undesirable input, especially if the code's environment changes. This can give attackers enough room to bypass the intended validation. However, denylists can be useful for detecting potential attacks or determining which inputs are so malformed that they should be rejected outright. To reduce the likelihood of introducing an out-of-bounds read, ensure that you validate and ensure correct calculations for any length argument, buffer size calculation, or offset. Be especially careful of relying on a sentinel (i.e. special character such as NUL) in untrusted inputs.

Weakness & attack patterns

CWE-125Out-of-bounds Read

Attack patterns reported against this CVE. The ATT&CK techniques below are inferred from its weakness class.

CAPEC-537 · Infiltration of Hardware Development EnvironmentCAPEC-540 · Overread Buffers

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first — with the readings a source repeats on a schedule counted underneath rather than listed.

2026
Added · CVSS 3.1 6.1 (AV:L)
Aug 24, 2026 · NVD
Initial · CVE published
Aug 24, 2026 · NVD
Reported to Red Hat.
Aug 24, 2026 · Red Hat
Added · GHSA-gqxg-r7gf-m7m7 published (medium)
Aug 24, 2026 · GitHub Security Advisory
CVE published by mitre
Aug 24, 2026 · SOCRadar CTI
Reported · Made public.
Jul 24, 2026 · Red Hat

Source activity

Readings a source repeats on a schedule, counted rather than listed.

1×CVE modified by NIST, Modified, LinkAug 24, 2026 · SOCRadar CTI

References

6 on the record

access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-78475
Vendor Advisory, NIST
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2522072
Vendor Advisory, Mitre, NIST
gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gimp/-/work_items/16580
Vendor Advisory, NIST
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-78475
NVD
github.com/advisories/GHSA-gqxg-r7gf-m7m7
Exploit, Third Party Advisory
www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-78475
Vendor Advisory

Elsewhere on this site

Red Hatevery CVE for this vendor
Memory Corruptionsame class
CWE-125other pages naming this weakness

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record1

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2026-78475 is Gimp: unbounded stack vla and 21-byte stack over-read in pix (esm) loader, a medium vulnerability affecting Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 from Red Hat. The current evidence does not list it in CISA KEV, and the exploit status is: Active exploitation is not confirmed from current sources for CVE-2026-78475. Public exploit evidence is: A public PoC is not confirmed from current sources for CVE-2026-78475. The affected-version evidence is listed in the key facts and affected products tables. Defenders should first verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run those versions, then apply vendor patches or mitigations, restrict reachable attack surface, and preserve logs for detection review. CVSS 6.1 describes technical severity, while EPSS 0% helps estimate near-term exploit likelihood; neither replaces asset context. Unknown fields should remain explicit in tickets, and threat actor, IOC, victimology, or payload claims should not be added unless a cited source supports them. Monitor CISA KEV, vendor advisories, NVD changes, public PoC repositories, and internal telemetry for update triggers.