CVE-2018-14435 in ImageMagick
Summary
by MITRE
ImageMagick 7.0.8-4 has a memory leak in DecodeImage in coders/pcd.c.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/25/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-14435 represents a critical memory management flaw within ImageMagick version 7.0.8-4, specifically affecting the decoding process of PCD image files. This memory leak occurs in the DecodeImage function located within the coders/pcd.c source file, which is responsible for processing PCD (Photo CD) format images. The flaw manifests when the software fails to properly release allocated memory resources during the image decoding operation, leading to progressive memory consumption that can ultimately result in system instability or resource exhaustion.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-401, which categorizes memory leaks as a common weakness in software systems where allocated memory is not properly deallocated. When ImageMagick processes a maliciously crafted PCD file, the DecodeImage function allocates memory to store image data but fails to clean up these allocations upon completion of the decoding process. This issue is particularly concerning because it can be exploited through image processing operations that are commonly encountered in web applications, file processing systems, and digital asset management platforms that utilize ImageMagick for image handling. The memory leak compounds with each processed image file, potentially leading to denial of service conditions where the application consumes all available memory resources.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risks to systems that process untrusted image files, particularly web applications that allow user-uploaded images or automated image processing pipelines. Attackers could exploit this weakness by uploading specially crafted PCD files that trigger the memory leak during processing, causing the target system to gradually consume available memory until the application crashes or the entire system becomes unresponsive. The impact extends beyond simple resource exhaustion as this vulnerability could be leveraged as part of a broader attack chain, potentially enabling denial of service against critical services or applications that depend on ImageMagick for image processing capabilities. The vulnerability's exploitation requires minimal privileges and can be executed through standard image processing workflows, making it particularly dangerous in environments where image files are automatically processed without proper validation.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-14435 should prioritize immediate patching of ImageMagick installations to versions that address the memory leak in the DecodeImage function. System administrators should implement comprehensive input validation and sanitization measures for all image file processing workflows, particularly those involving user-uploaded content or third-party image sources. Additionally, deploying memory monitoring and resource limiting mechanisms can help detect and prevent exploitation attempts by identifying abnormal memory consumption patterns. Organizations should also consider implementing sandboxing techniques for image processing operations to contain potential impacts of memory leaks. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under privilege escalation and denial of service tactics, emphasizing the need for layered security approaches that include network segmentation, application firewalls, and regular security assessments to prevent exploitation of memory management flaws in image processing libraries.