CVE-2026-77652

Dia: dia: heap buffer overflow in wpg colormap parser via out-of-bounds palette index

Published Aug 26, 2026 CVSS 3.1 · 7.8 High EPSS < 1% KEV · Not listed
Description
A heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the Dia diagram editor WPG file format importer.

In plug-ins/wpg/wpg-import.c, the WPG import renderer allocates a fixed palette with:

ren->pPal = g_new0(WPGColorRGB, 256);

When handling a WPG_COLORMAP record, the parser reads a start index (i16) and number of colors (iNum16) from the file and reads palette data with:

bRet &= (iNum16 == (int)fread(&ren->pPal[i16], sizeof(WPGColorRGB), iNum16, f));

The only bounds-related check is `if (i16 >= 0 && i16 <= iSize)`, where iSize is the WPG record size—not the palette capacity. There is no validation that i16 is less than 256 or that i16 + iNum16 does not exceed 256.

A malicious WPG file can supply i16=256 and iNum16=264. That causes fread() to write 792 bytes starting at &pPal[256], while the palette buffer is only 768 bytes (256 entries × 3 bytes). This overflows into adjacent heap metadata and can crash Dia (SIGABRT / malloc corruption errors) or, depending on heap layout and exploit primitives, potentially lead to arbitrary code execution.

Exploitation requires convincing a user to open a crafted WPG file via Dia's file dialog, command line, or file association. No special privileges are required to deliver the file to the victim.

Affected component: WPG parser (plug-ins/wpg/wpg-import.c).
Affected versions: all Dia versions containing this code path (reporter tested Dia 0.98+git20260221-1; issue present on upstream master as of 2026-08-21).

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record

Tracking

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Advisories

No advisories available
History
Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'poc', 'Technical Impact': 'total'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description A heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the Dia diagram editor WPG file format importer. In plug-ins/wpg/wpg-import.c, the WPG import renderer allocates a fixed palette with: ren->pPal = g_new0(WPGColorRGB, 256); When handling a WPG_COLORMAP record, the parser reads a start index (i16) and number of colors (iNum16) from the file and reads palette data with: bRet &= (iNum16 == (int)fread(&ren->pPal[i16], sizeof(WPGColorRGB), iNum16, f)); The only bounds-related check is `if (i16 >= 0 && i16 <= iSize)`, where iSize is the WPG record size—not the palette capacity. There is no validation that i16 is less than 256 or that i16 + iNum16 does not exceed 256. A malicious WPG file can supply i16=256 and iNum16=264. That causes fread() to write 792 bytes starting at &pPal[256], while the palette buffer is only 768 bytes (256 entries × 3 bytes). This overflows into adjacent heap metadata and can crash Dia (SIGABRT / malloc corruption errors) or, depending on heap layout and exploit primitives, potentially lead to arbitrary code execution. Exploitation requires convincing a user to open a crafted WPG file via Dia's file dialog, command line, or file association. No special privileges are required to deliver the file to the victim. Affected component: WPG parser (plug-ins/wpg/wpg-import.c). Affected versions: all Dia versions containing this code path (reporter tested Dia 0.98+git20260221-1; issue present on upstream master as of 2026-08-21). A heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the Dia diagram editor WPG file format importer. In plug-ins/wpg/wpg-import.c, the WPG import renderer allocates a fixed palette with: ren->pPal = g_new0(WPGColorRGB, 256); When handling a WPG_COLORMAP record, the parser reads a start index (i16) and number of colors (iNum16) from the file and reads palette data with: bRet &= (iNum16 == (int)fread(&ren->pPal[i16], sizeof(WPGColorRGB), iNum16, f)); The only bounds-related check is `if (i16 >= 0 && i16 <= iSize)`, where iSize is the WPG record size—not the palette capacity. There is no validation that i16 is less than 256 or that i16 + iNum16 does not exceed 256. A malicious WPG file can supply i16=256 and iNum16=264. That causes fread() to write 792 bytes starting at &pPal[256], while the palette buffer is only 768 bytes (256 entries × 3 bytes). This overflows into adjacent heap metadata and can crash Dia (SIGABRT / malloc corruption errors) or, depending on heap layout and exploit primitives, potentially lead to arbitrary code execution. Exploitation requires convincing a user to open a crafted WPG file via Dia's file dialog, command line, or file association. No special privileges are required to deliver the file to the victim. Affected component: WPG parser (plug-ins/wpg/wpg-import.c). Affected versions: all Dia versions containing this code path (reporter tested Dia 0.98+git20260221-1; issue present on upstream master as of 2026-08-21).
Title dia: dia: heap buffer overflow in WPG colormap parser via out-of-bounds palette index Dia: dia: heap buffer overflow in wpg colormap parser via out-of-bounds palette index
References
Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Gnome
Gnome dia
Vendors & Products Gnome
Gnome dia
Type Values Removed Values Added
Description A heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the Dia diagram editor WPG file format importer. In plug-ins/wpg/wpg-import.c, the WPG import renderer allocates a fixed palette with: ren->pPal = g_new0(WPGColorRGB, 256); When handling a WPG_COLORMAP record, the parser reads a start index (i16) and number of colors (iNum16) from the file and reads palette data with: bRet &= (iNum16 == (int)fread(&ren->pPal[i16], sizeof(WPGColorRGB), iNum16, f)); The only bounds-related check is `if (i16 >= 0 && i16 <= iSize)`, where iSize is the WPG record size—not the palette capacity. There is no validation that i16 is less than 256 or that i16 + iNum16 does not exceed 256. A malicious WPG file can supply i16=256 and iNum16=264. That causes fread() to write 792 bytes starting at &pPal[256], while the palette buffer is only 768 bytes (256 entries × 3 bytes). This overflows into adjacent heap metadata and can crash Dia (SIGABRT / malloc corruption errors) or, depending on heap layout and exploit primitives, potentially lead to arbitrary code execution. Exploitation requires convincing a user to open a crafted WPG file via Dia's file dialog, command line, or file association. No special privileges are required to deliver the file to the victim. Affected component: WPG parser (plug-ins/wpg/wpg-import.c). Affected versions: all Dia versions containing this code path (reporter tested Dia 0.98+git20260221-1; issue present on upstream master as of 2026-08-21).
Title dia: dia: heap buffer overflow in WPG colormap parser via out-of-bounds palette index
Weaknesses CWE-122
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.8, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}

threat_severity

Important

Weaknesses

Sources

Status
PUBLISHED
Assigner
fedora
Published
Updated
Aug 27, 2026, 2:43 PM
Reserved
Aug 21, 2026, 4:00 AM
Status
Awaiting Analysis
Published
Aug 26, 2026, 8:18 PM
Modified
Aug 28, 2026, 3:44 PM
Severity
Important
Public date
Aug 21, 2026, 12:00 AM