CVE-2017-18029 in ImageMagick
Summary
by MITRE
In ImageMagick 7.0.6-10 Q16, a memory leak vulnerability was found in the function ReadMATImage in coders/mat.c, which allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service via a crafted file.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/20/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-18029 represents a critical memory leak flaw within ImageMagick's MAT file processing functionality. This issue affects ImageMagick version 7.0.6-10 in its Q16 configuration, where the ReadMATImage function in the coders/mat.c source file fails to properly manage memory allocation during the parsing of specially crafted MAT files. The flaw stems from inadequate memory deallocation practices within the image processing pipeline, creating a condition where allocated memory blocks are not released back to the system even after processing completes. This memory management deficiency allows attackers to exploit the vulnerability through the careful construction of malicious MAT files that trigger the problematic code path.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability demonstrates a classic memory leak pattern where the application allocates memory for processing MAT file structures but fails to execute corresponding deallocation routines. When a malicious MAT file is processed, the ReadMATImage function initializes various memory buffers to store intermediate data structures during parsing operations. However, the function does not properly handle cleanup operations when encountering specific file formats or malformed data sequences, resulting in progressive memory consumption that continues until system resources are exhausted. This behavior aligns with CWE-401, which specifically addresses improper handling of memory allocation and deallocation in software applications.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability enables remote attackers to execute successful denial of service attacks against systems running vulnerable versions of ImageMagick. The memory leak occurs during the image format detection and processing phase, making it particularly dangerous in web applications or services that accept user-uploaded files. Attackers can construct MAT files that, when processed by the vulnerable ImageMagick library, cause the application to consume increasing amounts of memory over time. The impact extends beyond simple resource exhaustion, as the continuous memory consumption can lead to system instability, application crashes, and potentially complete service disruption for legitimate users. This vulnerability particularly affects systems that process external image files, including web servers, content management systems, and file processing services that utilize ImageMagick for image conversion and manipulation.
The security implications of CVE-2017-18029 align with ATT&CK technique T1499.004, which covers network denial of service attacks through resource exhaustion. The vulnerability can be exploited in environments where ImageMagick is used as part of automated processing workflows, making it particularly dangerous in cloud computing environments or services that handle large volumes of image uploads. Organizations using vulnerable versions of ImageMagick should implement immediate mitigations including updating to patched versions, implementing file validation mechanisms, and restricting file type processing capabilities. The recommended approach involves deploying the latest stable release of ImageMagick that contains memory management fixes, along with implementing proper input validation and sandboxing techniques to prevent exploitation of similar vulnerabilities in other image processing components. Additionally, system administrators should monitor for unusual memory consumption patterns and implement automated alerting mechanisms to detect potential exploitation attempts.