CVE-2012-0259 in ImageMagick
Summary
by MITRE
The GetEXIFProperty function in magick/property.c in ImageMagick before 6.7.6-3 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via a zero value in the component count of an EXIF XResolution tag in a JPEG file, which triggers an out-of-bounds read.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/03/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2012-0259 represents a critical denial of service flaw within ImageMagick's EXIF property handling mechanism. This vulnerability specifically affects the GetEXIFProperty function located in the magick/property.c file of ImageMagick versions prior to 6.7.6-3. The flaw manifests when processing JPEG files containing malformed EXIF metadata, particularly in the XResolution tag where a zero value in the component count field triggers unpredictable behavior.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through a buffer overflow condition that arises from improper validation of EXIF metadata components. When ImageMagick attempts to parse the XResolution tag in a JPEG file, it encounters a zero value in the component count field which causes the application to perform an out-of-bounds memory read operation. This memory access violation results in an application crash, effectively rendering the service unavailable to legitimate users. The vulnerability falls under CWE-129, which specifically addresses insufficient validation of the length of input data, and more broadly under CWE-125, which covers out-of-bounds read conditions. The flaw demonstrates a classic example of how malformed metadata can be leveraged to disrupt service availability.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risks to systems that process user-uploaded images or handle image metadata processing. The denial of service impact can be particularly severe in web applications, content management systems, or any platform that relies on ImageMagick for image manipulation and processing. Attackers can exploit this vulnerability by simply uploading a malicious JPEG file with the crafted EXIF data, requiring no authentication or privileged access. The low complexity of exploitation combined with the high impact makes this vulnerability particularly dangerous in environments where automated image processing workflows are common.
The attack vector for CVE-2012-0259 aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004, which covers network denial of service attacks through resource exhaustion or application crashes. This vulnerability can be classified under the broader category of application-level denial of service, where the attacker targets the application's processing logic rather than network infrastructure. The impact extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially enabling more sophisticated attacks if combined with other vulnerabilities. Organizations running ImageMagick-based services should prioritize immediate patching to address this vulnerability and implement additional input validation measures to prevent similar issues in other components of their image processing pipelines. The remediation strategy should include updating to ImageMagick version 6.7.6-3 or later, implementing proper EXIF metadata validation, and conducting regular security assessments of image processing workflows to identify potential similar vulnerabilities in other libraries or applications.