How severe is CVE-2020-29385?

CVE-2020-29385 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.5, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.

Is CVE-2020-29385 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (71st percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2020-29385?

CVE-2020-29385 primarily affects Gnome Gdk-pixbuf. In total, 5 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2020-29385?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.

When was CVE-2020-29385 published?

CVE-2020-29385 was published on 2020-12-26 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2020-29385

CVE-2020-29385 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Gnome Gdk-pixbuf with a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.5. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-835.

Key facts

Severity: Medium (CVSS 3.x base score 5.5)
CVSS v2: 4.3
EPSS exploit prediction: 1% (71st percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-835
Affected product: Gnome Gdk-pixbuf
Published: 2020-12-26
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

GNOME gdk-pixbuf (aka GdkPixbuf) before 2.42.2 allows a denial of service (infinite loop) in lzw.c in the function write_indexes. if c->self_code equals 10, self->code_table[10].extends will assign the value 11 to c. The next execution in the loop will assign self->code_table[11].extends to c, which will give the value of 10. This will make the loop run infinitely. This bug can, for example, be triggered by calling this function with a GIF image with LZW compression that is crafted in a special way.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2020-29385?: GNOME gdk-pixbuf (aka GdkPixbuf) before 2.42.2 allows a denial of service (infinite loop) in lzw.c in the function write_indexes. if c->self_code equals 10, self->code_table[10].extends will assign the value 11 to c. The next execution in the loop will assign self->code_table[11].extends to c, which will give the value of 10. This will make the loop run infinitely. This bug can, for example, be triggered by calling this function with a GIF image with LZW compression that is crafted in a special way.
How severe is CVE-2020-29385?: CVE-2020-29385 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.5, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.
Is CVE-2020-29385 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (71st percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2020-29385?: CVE-2020-29385 primarily affects Gnome Gdk-pixbuf. In total, 5 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2020-29385?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
When was CVE-2020-29385 published?: CVE-2020-29385 was published on 2020-12-26 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (5)

cpe:2.3:a:gnome:gdk-pixbuf:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:20.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:20.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:33:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:34:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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