giflib: heap-based buffer overflow in giflib (DumpScreen2RGB) (CVE-2025-31344) #shorts
Summary
On April 14, 2025, a heap‑based buffer overflow vulnerability (CVE‑2025‑31344) was disclosed in giflib (up to version 5.2.2) on Linux distributions. The flaw resides in the DumpScreen2RGB routine of gif2rgb.C and can be triggered by processing a specially crafted GIF file. Major Linux vendors, including SUSE and openEuler, have issued security advisories and updates to address the issue.
Product details
Affected product: giflib library, versions through 5.2.2. Distributions known to include the vulnerable versions: openEuler (git commit at 2c10c1abf8ff2e88b1da04e050bb721487b73fa3), SUSE Linux Enterprise (advisory bsc#1240416). The library is commonly used by image‑processing tools and desktop environments for decoding and rendering GIF images.
Vulnerability type summary
This issue is classified under CWE‑122: Heap‑based Buffer Overflow. A buffer allocated on the heap can be overrun when reading image data of a crafted GIF file, leading to memory corruption, application crashes, or potential code execution.
Details of the vulnerability
In the DumpScreen2RGB function of gif2rgb.C, boundaries on pixel or row data are insufficiently validated before copying into a dynamically allocated buffer. A malformed GIF with excessive image descriptor fields or manipulated frame dimensions can cause the code to write past the end of the heap buffer. Attackers could craft a malicious GIF and trick a victim into opening or processing it, triggering the overflow. Successful exploitation may allow remote code execution under the privileges of the target process, or a denial‑of‑service via application crash.
Conclusion
Users and administrators should apply the vendor‑provided patches immediately. SUSE customers can install the update from advisory bsc#1240416, and openEuler users should upgrade giflib to a post‑5.2.2 commit that includes the fix. As a general best practice, avoid opening untrusted GIF files, and ensure all image‑handling libraries are kept up to date to mitigate similar overflow risks.
Watch the full video on YouTube: CVE-2025-31344
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