Memory Leak in ImageMagick via APP1JPEG Processing

Executive Summary

CVE-2026-56366 is a memory leak vulnerability in ImageMagick versions before 7.1.2-18 and 6.9.13-43. It occurs in the META reader component when processing APP1JPEG input paths, specifically in an error handling scenario. Attackers can exploit this by providing specially crafted APP1JPEG image files, causing the program to improperly release memory after use.

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-401, which means it involves improper memory release, leading to a memory leak.

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Impact Analysis

The primary impact of this vulnerability is a denial of service caused by resource exhaustion due to the memory leak. This means that the affected system's availability can be reduced as memory is consumed and not freed properly.

Confidentiality and integrity of data are not affected by this vulnerability.

Exploitation requires local access with low attack complexity and no privileges or user interaction.

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Mitigation Strategies

To mitigate this vulnerability, you should update ImageMagick to version 7.1.2-18 or later (or 6.9.13-43 or later) where the memory leak in the META reader processing APP1JPEG input paths has been fixed.

Avoid processing untrusted or specially crafted APP1JPEG image files that could trigger the memory leak and cause denial of service through resource exhaustion.

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Compliance Impact

This vulnerability causes a memory leak leading to denial of service through resource exhaustion, affecting availability but not confidentiality or integrity.

Since confidentiality and integrity are not impacted, the vulnerability has limited direct effect on compliance with standards like GDPR or HIPAA, which primarily focus on protecting personal data confidentiality and integrity.

However, the reduced availability caused by this issue could indirectly affect compliance if it disrupts systems critical for maintaining regulatory requirements or service availability.

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Detection Guidance

This vulnerability is a memory leak in ImageMagick versions prior to 7.1.2-18 and 6.9.13-43 when processing specially crafted APP1JPEG image files. Detection typically involves identifying the presence of vulnerable ImageMagick versions on your system.

To detect if your system is vulnerable, you can check the installed ImageMagick version using the following command:

• magick --version

If the version is earlier than 7.1.2-18 or 6.9.13-43, your system is potentially vulnerable.

Additionally, monitoring for abnormal memory usage or crashes when processing APP1JPEG images may indicate exploitation attempts.

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