CVE-2014-9808 in ImageMagick
Summary
by MITRE
ImageMagick allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (segmentation fault and application crash) via a crafted dpc image.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/31/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-9808 resides within ImageMagick, a widely deployed software library for image processing and manipulation that is integral to numerous web applications and content management systems. This flaw specifically affects the handling of dpc image format files, which are part of the ImageMagick's extensive collection of supported file formats. The vulnerability manifests when ImageMagick processes specially crafted dpc image files, leading to a segmentation fault that results in application crash and subsequent denial of service. The issue represents a classic buffer over-read condition that occurs during the parsing of malformed dpc image data structures.
The technical nature of this vulnerability can be categorized under CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions in software systems. When ImageMagick attempts to parse the crafted dpc image, it fails to properly validate the image header information and metadata structures, leading to improper memory access patterns. The dpc format specification contains fields that, when manipulated in specific ways, cause the image processing library to attempt reading memory locations beyond the allocated buffer boundaries. This memory corruption directly translates to a segmentation fault in the operating system, which terminates the application process and renders the service unavailable to legitimate users. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it can be triggered through any input mechanism that allows image file uploads or processing, including web forms, file upload interfaces, and API endpoints that utilize ImageMagick for image manipulation.
From an operational perspective, the impact of CVE-2014-9808 extends far beyond simple service disruption, as it represents a critical attack vector for denial of service attacks against systems that rely on ImageMagick for image processing capabilities. The vulnerability affects numerous web applications including content management systems, e-commerce platforms, social media applications, and document management systems that utilize ImageMagick for image handling. Attackers can exploit this vulnerability by uploading or submitting maliciously crafted dpc image files, causing targeted applications to crash and become unavailable to legitimate users. The low complexity of exploitation combined with the widespread adoption of ImageMagick means that this vulnerability has significant potential for mass impact across multiple industries and application types. The vulnerability also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004, which describes network denial of service attacks targeting application availability.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2014-9808 should focus on both immediate remediation and long-term architectural improvements to prevent similar vulnerabilities from occurring. The primary and most effective mitigation involves upgrading to ImageMagick versions that have patched this vulnerability, specifically versions 6.8.8-7 and 7.0.0-1 or later. Organizations should implement comprehensive input validation and sanitization measures for all image file uploads, including MIME type checking, file format validation, and size limitations. Additionally, deploying application firewalls and web application firewalls can help detect and block malicious image file submissions before they reach the ImageMagick processing layer. The implementation of sandboxing techniques and restricted execution environments for image processing tasks can further limit the potential impact of such vulnerabilities. Organizations should also consider implementing automated image processing pipelines with proper error handling and resource monitoring to detect and recover from service disruptions caused by similar vulnerabilities. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify and remediate other potential buffer overflow conditions within image processing libraries and related components.