CVE-2014-9853 in ImageMagick
Summary
by MITRE
Memory leak in coders/rle.c in ImageMagick allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory consumption) via a crafted rle file.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/04/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-9853 represents a critical memory leak flaw within ImageMagick's Run-Length Encoding (RLE) file format handler located in the coders/rle.c source file. This issue manifests when the software processes maliciously crafted RLE files, leading to uncontrolled memory consumption that can ultimately result in system resource exhaustion and denial of service conditions. The vulnerability falls under the CWE-401 category of "Improper Release of Memory Before Removing Last Reference" and demonstrates how improper memory management can create significant operational risks in image processing applications.
The technical implementation of this flaw occurs during the parsing of Run-Length Encoded image files where ImageMagick fails to properly manage memory allocation and deallocation cycles. When processing malformed RLE data, the software allocates memory resources to store image information but does not consistently release these allocations, causing memory leaks to accumulate over time. This type of vulnerability is particularly dangerous in network-facing applications where attackers can submit crafted files to trigger the memory consumption behavior, making it a prime target for remote exploitation. The ATT&CK technique T1499.004 "Endpoint Denial of Service" is directly applicable here as the vulnerability enables attackers to consume system resources and render services unavailable.
The operational impact of CVE-2014-9853 extends beyond simple resource exhaustion to potentially compromise entire systems that rely on ImageMagick for image processing tasks. Organizations using vulnerable versions of ImageMagick in web applications, file processing systems, or content management platforms face significant risk of service disruption when attackers exploit this flaw. The memory leak can occur gradually, making detection challenging, and may affect multiple processes if the application maintains persistent connections or handles multiple concurrent file operations. Systems that do not properly monitor memory usage or implement resource limits become particularly vulnerable to complete service degradation.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2014-9853 require immediate patching of affected ImageMagick installations to the latest stable versions that contain memory management fixes. System administrators should implement strict file validation and sanitization processes before processing any image files, particularly those submitted by untrusted sources. Network segmentation and access controls can limit the potential impact of exploitation by restricting access to vulnerable image processing services. Monitoring systems should be configured to detect unusual memory consumption patterns and implement automatic alerts for processes showing abnormal resource usage. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing sandboxing techniques for image processing operations to contain potential exploitation attempts and prevent them from affecting core system resources. The vulnerability underscores the importance of regular security updates and proper input validation in preventing memory-related exploits that can lead to system compromise.