Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:HSummary
CVE-2026-5201 is a high-severity Heap-based Buffer Overflow (CWE-122) vulnerability in Redhat Enterprise Linux. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked in the top 38% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2026-5201 is a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in the gdk-pixbuf library's JPEG image loader, stemming from improper validation of color component counts when processing specially crafted JPEG images. Published on 2026-03-31, it carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H) and is associated with CWE-122 (Heap-based Buffer Overflow). The flaw affects the gdk-pixbuf library, commonly used in graphical applications for image processing.
A remote attacker can exploit this vulnerability without user interaction or privileges, for instance by tricking systems into generating thumbnails from malicious JPEG files. Successful exploitation triggers application crashes, resulting in denial-of-service (DoS) conditions with high availability impact but no confidentiality or integrity effects.
Red Hat has addressed this issue through multiple security errata, including RHSA-2026:10707, RHSA-2026:10708, RHSA-2026:10741, RHSA-2026:11325, and RHSA-2026:11326, which provide updated packages for affected gdk-pixbuf versions in various Red Hat products. Security practitioners should apply these patches promptly to mitigate the risk.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-17343
Vulnerability Data
A flaw was found in the gdk-pixbuf library. This heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability occurs in the JPEG image loader due to improper validation of color component counts when processing a specially crafted JPEG image. A remote attacker can exploit this…
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flaw without user interaction, for example, via thumbnail generation. Successful exploitation leads to application crashes and denial of service (DoS) conditions.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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V1.4.1
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Developer testing and evaluation (including fuzzing and memory-error detectors) can discover heap overflows after they have been coded.
Input validation enforces bounds checking on data written to heap buffers, directly stopping the overflow condition from being introduced.
Security engineering principles require use of memory-safe constructs and bounds-checked allocation routines that avoid introducing heap overflows.
Memory-protection mechanisms limit the ability of a heap overflow to execute attacker-controlled code or corrupt adjacent structures.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Secure-development practices directly require bounds checking and safe memory handling that prevent heap overflows.
Vulnerability scanning and recording can discover heap-overflow flaws but does not prevent their introduction in code.
Timely patching removes known heap-overflow instances after they exist.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Security testing in development and acceptance can detect heap overflows before release.
Secure development lifecycle mandates practices that reduce the likelihood of introducing heap overflows.
Application security requirements can specify bounds-checking and safe memory APIs that mitigate heap overflows.
Secure architecture and engineering principles include memory-safety and input-validation controls that address heap overflows.
Secure coding standards directly prescribe techniques (safe functions, bounds checks) that prevent heap-based buffer overflows.
Change management ensures controlled deployment of fixes for discovered heap-overflow vulnerabilities.