Heap Buffer Overflow in ImageMagick YUV Image Processing

Executive Summary

CVE-2026-25986 is a moderate severity heap buffer overflow vulnerability in the ImageMagick software. It occurs in the ReadYUVImage() function when processing malicious YUV 4:2:2 (NoInterlace) images. Specifically, the pixel-pair loop writes one pixel beyond the allocated row buffer, causing a heap buffer overflow write.

This vulnerability affects ImageMagick versions prior to 7.1.2-15 and 6.9.13-40 and has been patched in these versions.

The out-of-bounds write can lead to memory corruption and potentially allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly execute arbitrary code by supplying crafted images.

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Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can impact you by allowing remote attackers to cause a denial of service (DoS) on systems using vulnerable versions of ImageMagick when processing malicious YUV 4:2:2 images.

There is also a potential risk of arbitrary code execution, which could lead to further compromise of the affected system.

However, the vulnerability does not impact confidentiality or integrity of data, only availability.

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Compliance Impact

I don't know

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Detection Guidance

This vulnerability occurs when processing malicious YUV 4:2:2 (NoInterlace) images with vulnerable versions of ImageMagick prior to 7.1.2-15 and 6.9.13-40. Detection involves identifying if your system is running an affected version of ImageMagick and monitoring for attempts to process suspicious YUV 4:2:2 images.

Since the vulnerability is triggered by crafted image files, you can detect potential exploitation attempts by scanning logs for errors or crashes related to ImageMagick when handling YUV 4:2:2 images.

Commands to check the installed ImageMagick version include:

• magick -version
• convert -version

To detect suspicious files, you might search for files with YUV 4:2:2 format or monitor network traffic for such image uploads, but no specific detection commands are provided in the available resources.

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Mitigation Strategies

The primary mitigation step is to upgrade ImageMagick to a patched version. Versions 7.1.2-15 and 6.9.13-40 contain fixes for this heap buffer overflow vulnerability.

If upgrading immediately is not possible, consider restricting or disabling processing of untrusted YUV 4:2:2 (NoInterlace) images to prevent exploitation.

Additionally, monitor your systems for crashes or unusual behavior in ImageMagick processes that might indicate exploitation attempts.

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