CVE-2017-13736 in GraphicsMagick
Summary
by MITRE
There are lots of memory leaks in the GMCommand function in magick/command.c in GraphicsMagick 1.3.26 that will lead to a remote denial of service attack.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/27/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-13736 resides within the GraphicsMagick library version 1.3.26, specifically within the GMCommand function located in the magick/command.c source file. This critical memory management flaw represents a significant security risk that can be exploited remotely to cause denial of service conditions. GraphicsMagick is a robust image processing library widely used in web applications, content management systems, and various software platforms that handle image manipulation tasks. The vulnerability manifests through insufficient memory deallocation practices during command processing, creating persistent memory leaks that accumulate over time and eventually exhaust available system resources.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from improper memory handling within the GMCommand function where allocated memory blocks are not consistently freed following command execution. When processing certain image manipulation commands, the function allocates memory for various data structures including image buffers, command parameters, and processing contexts without ensuring proper cleanup routines execute. This memory leak pattern is particularly dangerous because it occurs repeatedly during normal operation, allowing attackers to submit crafted image files or command sequences that trigger multiple memory allocation events without corresponding deallocation. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-401 as "Improper Release of Memory Before Removing Last Reference" and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004 for "Resource Hijacking" through memory exhaustion attacks.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service conditions to potentially compromise entire systems running GraphicsMagick-based applications. Remote attackers can exploit this weakness by uploading malicious image files or sending specially crafted commands that trigger the memory leak pattern repeatedly. Each successful exploitation attempt consumes additional system memory, gradually depleting available resources until the target system becomes unresponsive or crashes entirely. This vulnerability is particularly concerning in web environments where GraphicsMagick is used to process user-uploaded content, as it allows attackers to consume system resources without requiring authentication or privileged access. The cumulative effect of multiple concurrent attacks can lead to complete system outages, affecting availability for legitimate users and potentially causing cascading failures in larger networked systems.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2017-13736 should prioritize immediate patching of GraphicsMagick installations to version 1.3.27 or later, which contains the necessary memory management fixes. System administrators should implement input validation and image file size limits to reduce the impact of potential attacks while patches are being deployed. Additionally, monitoring systems should be configured to detect unusual memory consumption patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper memory management in security-sensitive applications and highlights the need for comprehensive code review processes that identify resource leak patterns. Organizations using GraphicsMagick should also consider implementing sandboxing techniques and resource limits for image processing tasks to contain the potential impact of similar vulnerabilities. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify other potential memory management issues that could lead to similar denial of service conditions.