CVE-2017-9144 in ImageMagick
Summary
by MITRE
In ImageMagick 7.0.5-5, a crafted RLE image can trigger a crash because of incorrect EOF handling in coders/rle.c.
If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/07/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-9144 represents a critical heap-based buffer overflow in ImageMagick version 7.0.5-5, specifically within the Run-Length Encoding (RLE) image format decoder. This flaw resides in the coders/rle.c source file where improper end-of-file handling leads to memory corruption when processing maliciously crafted RLE image files. The vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and boundary checking during the decompression process of RLE encoded data, creating a scenario where an attacker can manipulate the decoder to read beyond allocated memory boundaries.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the RLE decoder's failure to properly validate the length of data segments within the encoded image file. When ImageMagick encounters an RLE image with malformed EOF markers or incorrect data length specifications, the decoder attempts to read beyond the intended buffer limits, resulting in a heap overflow condition. This memory corruption can manifest as application crashes, undefined behavior, or potentially allow for arbitrary code execution depending on the memory layout and exploitation circumstances. The flaw operates at the binary parsing level where the decoder assumes certain data structures will maintain expected formats, but malicious input can cause the parser to misinterpret the data flow and execute unsafe memory operations.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to systems that process user-uploaded images or handle image data from untrusted sources. The impact extends across various deployment scenarios including web applications, content management systems, and image processing pipelines where ImageMagick serves as the underlying image manipulation library. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability by crafting specially formatted RLE images that trigger the buffer overflow during normal image processing operations. The exploitability of this vulnerability is enhanced by the fact that ImageMagick is widely deployed across different platforms and applications, making the attack surface extensive. The crash behavior can be leveraged for denial-of-service attacks or potentially for more sophisticated exploitation techniques depending on the execution environment and memory protection mechanisms in place.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2017-9144 should focus on immediate patching of affected ImageMagick installations to version 7.0.5-6 or later where the EOF handling has been corrected. Organizations should implement input validation measures that sanitize all image uploads and employ strict file format verification before processing. Network-level protections such as content filtering and sandboxing techniques can provide additional defense layers. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions, and may map to ATT&CK technique T1059 for execution through image processing utilities. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be implemented to identify systems running outdated versions of ImageMagick, while application developers should consider implementing more robust error handling and memory management practices in their image processing workflows to prevent similar issues from manifesting in custom implementations.