# CVE-2013-1978: Memory corruption in n/a

> Remote attackers can execute arbitrary code or cause a crash in GIMP by tricking a user into opening a malicious XWD image file.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.8 (`AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/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 Dec 2013
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2013-1978, GHSA-m9mj-2mx7-5fr2

## What is CVE-2013-1978?

CVE-2013-1978 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Gimp Gimp, published on 12 Dec 2013. 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

Heap-based buffer overflow in the read_xwd_cols function in file-xwd.c in the X Window Dump (XWD) plug-in in GIMP 2.6.9 and earlier allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code via an X Window System (XWD) image dump with more colors than color map entries.

Weakness: CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2013-1978?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Gimp Gimp, Redhat Enterprise Linux.

## How do I fix CVE-2013-1978?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2013-1978 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2013-1978 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## 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-2013-1978 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2013-1978 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Gimp Gimp, published on 12 Dec 2013. 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-2013-1978 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-2013-1978/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-1978/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2013-1978
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2013-1978
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2013-1978

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-1978/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.