CVE-2018-18544 in ImageMagick
Summary
by MITRE
There is a memory leak in the function WriteMSLImage of coders/msl.c in ImageMagick 7.0.8-13 Q16.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/30/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-18544 represents a critical memory management flaw within ImageMagick's MSL (Magic Software Library) image format processing module. This issue manifests specifically within the WriteMSLImage function located in the coders/msl.c source file of ImageMagick version 7.0.8-13 Q16. The memory leak occurs during the processing of MSL formatted image files, which are commonly used in various digital imaging applications and systems. The flaw demonstrates a failure in proper resource cleanup mechanisms, where allocated memory segments are not adequately released back to the system after processing operations complete. This type of vulnerability falls under the category of memory corruption issues that can significantly impact system stability and resource availability.
The technical implementation of this memory leak stems from inadequate memory deallocation practices within the WriteMSLImage function. When ImageMagick processes MSL image files, it allocates memory for various internal data structures and buffers required for image manipulation and storage operations. However, during the function execution, certain memory blocks are allocated but never properly freed, resulting in a gradual accumulation of unused memory within the application's memory space. This behavior creates a persistent memory footprint that grows with each processed image file, ultimately leading to resource exhaustion and potential application crashes. The vulnerability is classified as a CWE-401: Improper Release of Memory and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004 for Resource Exhaustion attacks.
The operational impact of CVE-2018-18544 extends beyond simple memory consumption issues to encompass broader system stability and availability concerns. When exploited in a continuous processing environment such as web applications or batch image processing systems, this memory leak can cause progressive degradation of system performance and eventually lead to complete service outages. Attackers could potentially leverage this vulnerability by submitting multiple MSL formatted image files to a vulnerable ImageMagick instance, causing memory exhaustion and system instability. The vulnerability affects any system that utilizes ImageMagick 7.0.8-13 Q16 for image processing, including web servers, content management systems, and digital asset management platforms. Organizations running vulnerable versions face significant risk of denial-of-service conditions that could disrupt business operations and compromise system reliability.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-18544 should prioritize immediate software updates to versions that address the memory management flaw in the WriteMSLImage function. The recommended approach involves upgrading to ImageMagick 7.0.8-14 or later versions where the memory leak has been resolved through proper memory deallocation mechanisms. Additionally, implementing input validation and sanitization measures can help reduce exposure by limiting the processing of untrusted MSL image files. System administrators should consider implementing memory monitoring and alerting mechanisms to detect unusual memory consumption patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of regular security patch management and vulnerability assessment procedures to identify and remediate similar memory management issues in other components of the software stack. Organizations should conduct thorough testing of updated software versions to ensure that the memory leak has been properly resolved without introducing regressions in functionality.