CVE-2017-14739 in ImageMagick
Summary
by MITRE
The AcquireResampleFilterThreadSet function in magick/resample-private.h in ImageMagick 7.0.7-4 mishandles failed memory allocation, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL Pointer Dereference in DistortImage in MagickCore/distort.c, and application crash) via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/30/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-14739 represents a critical memory management flaw within ImageMagick's image processing pipeline, specifically affecting version 7.0.7-4. This issue manifests in the AcquireResampleFilterThreadSet function located in magick/resample-private.h, where improper handling of failed memory allocation conditions creates a pathway for remote exploitation. The flaw occurs during the resampling process when ImageMagick attempts to allocate memory for thread sets used in image distortion operations, fundamentally undermining the application's stability and reliability.
The technical execution of this vulnerability involves a NULL pointer dereference that occurs in the DistortImage function within MagickCore/distort.c, demonstrating how memory allocation failures can cascade into critical application crashes. When the AcquireResampleFilterThreadSet function encounters a memory allocation failure, it fails to properly validate the allocation result before proceeding with subsequent operations. This oversight allows attackers to craft malicious image files that deliberately trigger memory allocation failures, causing the application to attempt to dereference a NULL pointer during distortion processing. The vulnerability operates at the intersection of memory safety and resource management, where inadequate error handling transforms a recoverable condition into a system crash.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents a significant denial of service risk for any system relying on ImageMagick for image processing, particularly web applications and content management systems that accept user-uploaded images. The remote attack vector means that adversaries can exploit this weakness without requiring local access, making it particularly dangerous in web-facing environments. Applications using ImageMagick for image conversion, resizing, or distortion operations become vulnerable to crashes that can disrupt service availability and potentially provide attackers with information about the system's internal state through crash patterns.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-476, which addresses NULL Pointer Dereference, and demonstrates how improper error handling in memory allocation scenarios can lead to application instability. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this represents a privilege escalation and denial of service technique that can be leveraged to disrupt services, with potential for further exploitation if the application's crash behavior reveals information about memory layout or internal state. The flaw's impact extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially enable more sophisticated attacks if attackers can manipulate the crash conditions to achieve code execution.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2017-14739 should focus on immediate patching of ImageMagick to version 7.0.7-5 or later, where the memory allocation handling has been corrected to properly validate allocation results before proceeding with operations. Organizations should implement input validation measures to reject malformed image files at the application boundary, particularly for web applications that process user uploads. Additionally, deployment of application-level sandboxing or containerization can limit the impact of successful exploitation attempts. System administrators should monitor for unusual application crashes or service disruptions that might indicate exploitation attempts, and implement proper logging to capture memory allocation failure patterns that could precede exploitation. The fix addresses the root cause by ensuring that failed memory allocations are properly handled through early termination or fallback mechanisms rather than proceeding with uninitialized memory operations.