CVE-2005-0759 in ImageMagick
Summary
by MITRE
ImageMagick before 6.0 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) via a TIFF image with an invalid tag.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/31/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2005-0759 represents a critical denial of service weakness within ImageMagick versions prior to 6.0, specifically targeting the processing of TIFF image files. This flaw demonstrates how improper input validation can lead to application instability and system unavailability, making it a significant concern for organizations relying on image processing capabilities. The vulnerability resides in the TIFF format parser implementation where the software fails to properly handle malformed or invalid tag structures within TIFF files, creating a condition that can be exploited by remote attackers to crash the application.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when ImageMagick attempts to parse a TIFF image containing an invalid tag structure. The software's parsing routine lacks adequate bounds checking and validation mechanisms, causing the application to encounter unexpected data patterns that trigger memory corruption or stack overflow conditions. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-125 vulnerability category, which encompasses out-of-bounds read errors that can lead to application crashes and potential privilege escalation scenarios. The flaw represents a classic buffer over-read condition where the parser attempts to access memory locations beyond the allocated buffer boundaries when processing malformed TIFF tag entries.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates substantial risk for web applications and services that utilize ImageMagick for image processing, particularly those accepting user-uploaded content. Attackers can craft malicious TIFF files with invalid tags and submit them through vulnerable applications, resulting in service disruption and potential denial of service for legitimate users. The impact extends beyond simple application crashes as it can affect entire systems or services that depend on ImageMagick functionality, potentially leading to cascading failures in dependent applications and services. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004 which describes network denial of service attacks targeting application availability.
The remediation strategy for this vulnerability involves immediate upgrading to ImageMagick version 6.0 or later, where the parsing routines have been enhanced with proper input validation and bounds checking. Organizations should implement comprehensive input sanitization measures for all image file processing, including automated malware scanning and file format validation. Additionally, deploying network-based intrusion detection systems and implementing proper access controls can help mitigate the risk of exploitation. The fix addresses the root cause by introducing robust error handling and validation routines that properly validate TIFF tag structures before processing, preventing the application from crashing when encountering malformed input data.