CVE-2016-7446 in GraphicsMagick
Summary
by MITRE
Buffer overflow in the MVG and SVG rendering code in GraphicsMagick 1.3.24 allows remote attackers to have unspecified impact via unknown vectors. Note: This vulnerability exists due to an incomplete patch for CVE-2016-2317.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/11/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-7446 represents a critical buffer overflow flaw within the GraphicsMagick library version 1.3.24, specifically affecting the Multi-Volume Graphics (MVG) and Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) rendering components. This issue arises from an incomplete remediation of a previously disclosed vulnerability CVE-2016-2317, creating a persistent security weakness that remote attackers can exploit to achieve unspecified but potentially severe consequences. The buffer overflow occurs when the library processes specially crafted MVG or SVG files, allowing malicious input to exceed allocated memory boundaries and potentially corrupt adjacent memory regions.
The technical nature of this vulnerability falls under the Common Weakness Enumeration category CWE-121, which encompasses stack-based buffer overflow conditions where insufficient bounds checking permits attackers to overwrite adjacent memory locations. The flaw manifests during the parsing and rendering operations of vector graphics formats, where the GraphicsMagick library fails to properly validate input lengths against allocated buffer sizes. This weakness enables attackers to manipulate memory layout through carefully constructed malicious graphics files, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution or system compromise. The incomplete patch for CVE-2016-2317 suggests that the original fix was either insufficiently comprehensive or introduced new attack vectors that were not adequately addressed in the subsequent release.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risks to systems that process untrusted graphics content, particularly web applications, content management systems, and image processing services that utilize GraphicsMagick for handling user-uploaded graphics files. The unspecified impact of the vulnerability means that attackers could potentially achieve various malicious outcomes including privilege escalation, denial of service conditions, or complete system compromise depending on the execution environment and memory layout. The remote exploitation capability makes this vulnerability particularly dangerous as attackers can leverage it through network-based attacks without requiring local access to the target system, aligning with the attack pattern described in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the T1059.007 technique for command and scripting interpreter execution.
Organizations utilizing GraphicsMagick versions 1.3.24 or earlier should prioritize immediate remediation through patch updates to address this vulnerability. The recommended mitigation strategy includes upgrading to a patched version of GraphicsMagick that properly resolves both CVE-2016-2317 and CVE-2016-7446, implementing strict input validation for all graphics file processing, and deploying network-based intrusion detection systems to monitor for exploitation attempts. Additional protective measures should encompass restricting user upload capabilities for graphics files, implementing sandboxing techniques for graphics processing, and establishing comprehensive monitoring protocols to detect potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of thorough vulnerability remediation and testing, as incomplete patches can leave systems exposed to continued exploitation while potentially introducing new attack surfaces that adversaries can leverage.