Heap Buffer Overflow in ImageMagick

Executive Summary

This vulnerability exists in ImageMagick versions before 7.1.2-19 and is caused by an off-by-one error in morphology validation. This error allows out-of-bounds heap buffer reads. Specifically, attackers can trigger a heap buffer overflow by providing incorrect morphology parameters, which leads to single pixel memory access violations.

Useful 0 Not Useful 0

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability involves an off-by-one error in morphology validation in ImageMagick versions prior to 7.1.2-19 and 6.9.13-44, which can cause out-of-bounds heap buffer reads. Detection typically involves verifying the installed ImageMagick version to see if it is vulnerable.

You can detect the vulnerability by checking the version of ImageMagick installed on your system using the command:

• magick --version

If the version is earlier than 7.1.2-19 or 6.9.13-44, the system is vulnerable.

Additionally, to detect attempts to exploit this vulnerability, monitoring logs for unusual or malformed morphology parameters in ImageMagick processing commands or scripts may help, but no specific detection commands are provided in the available resources.

Useful 0 Not Useful 0

Impact Analysis

The vulnerability can lead to heap buffer overflow, which may cause memory corruption or crashes in applications using vulnerable versions of ImageMagick. This could potentially be exploited by attackers to disrupt service or cause unexpected behavior in software that processes images using the affected ImageMagick versions.

Useful 0 Not Useful 0

Compliance Impact

The vulnerability CVE-2026-56361 in ImageMagick results in a heap buffer overflow that impacts availability but does not directly affect confidentiality or integrity of data.

Since the issue does not lead to unauthorized disclosure or modification of data, it has limited direct impact on compliance with standards like GDPR or HIPAA, which primarily focus on protecting personal data confidentiality and integrity.

However, any availability issues caused by this vulnerability could indirectly affect compliance if they disrupt critical services or data access required by these regulations.

Useful 0 Not Useful 0

Mitigation Strategies

The primary mitigation step is to update ImageMagick to a patched version that fixes this vulnerability.

• Upgrade ImageMagick to version 7.1.2-19 or later, or 6.9.13-44 or later.

This update addresses the off-by-one error in morphology validation that leads to the heap buffer overflow.

Until the update can be applied, consider restricting or monitoring the use of morphology parameters in ImageMagick commands to prevent exploitation.

Useful 0 Not Useful 0