CVE-2017-17883 in ImageMagick
Summary
by MITRE
In ImageMagick 7.0.7-12 Q16, a memory leak vulnerability was found in the function ReadPGXImage in coders/pgx.c, which allows attackers to cause a denial of service via a crafted PGX image file.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/19/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-17883 represents a critical memory leak flaw within ImageMagick's image processing library, specifically affecting version 7.0.7-12 Q16. This issue resides in the ReadPGXImage function located within the coders/pgx.c source file, demonstrating how seemingly benign image format parsing can become a vector for significant system compromise. The flaw manifests when ImageMagick processes crafted PGX image files, which are part of the Portable Graymap format used for storing grayscale images. The vulnerability operates at the intersection of software security and resource management, where improper memory handling during image parsing creates opportunities for attackers to exploit system resources.
The technical exploitation of this memory leak occurs when an attacker crafts a malicious PGX image file that triggers the ReadPGXImage function to allocate memory without proper subsequent deallocation. This behavior creates a gradual accumulation of unclaimed memory segments within the application's memory space, eventually leading to system resource exhaustion. The vulnerability follows the CWE-401 weakness classification, which specifically addresses improper release of memory resources, making it a direct descendant of the well-known memory management issues that plague software applications. When exploited, this flaw enables attackers to consume system memory continuously, potentially causing applications to crash or become unresponsive, thereby creating a denial of service condition that affects the availability of services relying on ImageMagick for image processing.
The operational impact of CVE-2017-17883 extends beyond simple service disruption, as it can be leveraged in broader attack scenarios within the ATT&CK framework's privilege escalation and denial of service categories. Systems that process untrusted image files, such as web applications, content management systems, and file sharing platforms, become vulnerable to this memory exhaustion attack. The vulnerability's exploitation is particularly concerning because it requires minimal user interaction beyond the simple act of processing an image file, making it suitable for automated attacks. Attackers can craft PGX files that consume memory at varying rates, potentially leading to gradual system degradation or immediate system crashes, depending on the target environment's memory constraints and the specific implementation details of how ImageMagick handles memory allocation.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate patching of affected ImageMagick versions, with the recommended approach being the upgrade to versions that have addressed this memory leak issue. Organizations should implement comprehensive input validation and sanitization measures for all image file processing workflows, particularly when dealing with user-uploaded content. The implementation of resource limits and memory monitoring can help detect and prevent exploitation attempts before they cause significant system impact. Additionally, security teams should consider implementing sandboxed environments for image processing operations, which can isolate potential memory leak impacts and prevent them from affecting core system resources. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the importance of proper memory management in image processing libraries and highlights the need for thorough security testing of file format parsers, particularly those handling binary data formats like PGX that require careful memory handling during parsing operations.