Impact Analysis

This vulnerability allows an attacker with local access to bypass file path policy restrictions in ImageMagick by exploiting a symlink race condition.

The impact includes unauthorized reading or writing of files that should be protected, leading to potential confidentiality and integrity breaches.

Specifically, the CVSS score indicates high impact on confidentiality and integrity, meaning sensitive data could be exposed or altered without permission.

Useful 0 Not Useful 0

Compliance Impact

I don't know

Useful 0 Not Useful 0

Detection Guidance

I don't know

Useful 0 Not Useful 0

Mitigation Strategies

To mitigate this vulnerability, you should upgrade ImageMagick to version 7.1.2-16 or later, or 6.9.13-41 or later, where the issue has been fixed.

This update addresses the Time-of-Check to Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) symlink race condition in the path policy authorization mechanism, preventing attackers from bypassing policy restrictions via symlink manipulation.

Useful 0 Not Useful 0

Executive Summary

[{'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'CVE-2026-28689 is a moderate severity vulnerability in ImageMagick, a software used for editing and manipulating digital images. The issue is a Time-of-Check to Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) symlink race condition in the "path" policy authorization mechanism.'}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'ImageMagick checks authorization on file paths before opening or using files. However, an attacker can exploit a symlink swap between the time the check is done and the time the file is actually used. This allows bypassing policy restrictions that should deny access.'}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'As a result, unauthorized read or write access to files can occur, violating intended security policies.'}] [1]

Useful 0 Not Useful 0