# CVE-2012-3236: Null dereference in n/a

> Remote attackers can crash GIMP by tricking users into opening a malformed .fit file, causing a denial of service.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.3 (`AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 12 Jul 2012
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2012-3236, GHSA-4g36-rrq2-qqqf

## What is CVE-2012-3236?

CVE-2012-3236 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Gimp Gimp, published on 12 Jul 2012. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

fits-io.c in GIMP before 2.8.1 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and application crash) via a malformed XTENSION header of a .fit file, as demonstrated using a long string.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2012-3236?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Gimp Gimp.

## How do I fix CVE-2012-3236?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2012-3236 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2012-3236 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Public exploit code:

- GIMP 2.8.0 - '.FIT' File Format Denial of Service (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in Gimp Gimp

- [CVE-2010-4541](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-4541/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2009-3909](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-3909/): Integer overflow in n/a (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2009-1570](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-1570/): Integer overflow in n/a (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2009-0723](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-0723/): Integer overflow in n/a (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2009-0733](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-0733/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2012-3236 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2012-3236 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Gimp Gimp, published on 12 Jul 2012. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2012-3236 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Gimp Gimp. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-3236/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-3236/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2012-3236
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-3236
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2012-3236

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-3236/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.