CVE-2017-12664 in ImageMagick
Summary
by MITRE
ImageMagick 7.0.6-2 has a memory leak vulnerability in WritePALMImage in coders/palm.c.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/15/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-12664 represents a critical memory leak flaw within ImageMagick's PALM image format handling mechanism. This issue specifically affects version 7.0.6-2 of the popular image processing library, which is widely utilized across various platforms and applications for image manipulation and conversion tasks. The memory leak occurs within the WritePALMImage function located in the coders/palm.c source file, indicating a fundamental problem in how the software manages memory allocation during PALM image file creation operations. The vulnerability exposes systems to potential resource exhaustion attacks that can degrade performance or cause system instability when processing maliciously crafted PALM image files.
From a technical perspective, the memory leak vulnerability stems from improper memory management within the PALM image writing process where allocated memory blocks are not properly released after use. This flaw allows attackers to craft specially formatted PALM image files that, when processed by ImageMagick, cause the application to continuously allocate memory without subsequent deallocation. The vulnerability manifests as a gradual consumption of system resources, potentially leading to denial of service conditions where legitimate users cannot access system resources due to memory exhaustion. The issue is particularly concerning because ImageMagick is often integrated into web applications, content management systems, and server-side image processing pipelines, making it a prime target for exploitation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple resource consumption, as it can be leveraged to create persistent denial of service conditions in applications that rely on ImageMagick for image processing. Systems running vulnerable versions of ImageMagick may experience progressive performance degradation or complete system crashes when processing malicious PALM files, particularly in environments where automated image processing workflows are common. The vulnerability affects both server-side applications and client-side implementations, creating a broad attack surface that can be exploited through various vectors including web uploads, file processing services, and automated image conversion utilities. Organizations using ImageMagick in production environments face significant risk of service disruption and potential data loss if this vulnerability remains unpatched.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2017-12664 require immediate patching of affected ImageMagick installations to version 7.0.6-3 or later, which contains the necessary memory management fixes. System administrators should implement input validation measures to restrict PALM image file processing and consider implementing resource limits and monitoring for memory consumption patterns. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-401, which categorizes memory leak issues as a common weakness in software development practices, and can be mapped to ATT&CK technique T1499.001 for resource exhaustion attacks. Organizations should also consider implementing sandboxed processing environments for image file handling and establishing automated monitoring for abnormal memory usage patterns that could indicate exploitation attempts. Regular security audits and vulnerability assessments should be conducted to ensure all image processing components remain up-to-date and properly secured against similar memory management flaws.