CVE-2026-106568 in ImageMagick
Summary
by MITRE • 10/07/2026
ImageMagick is free and open-source software used for editing and manipulating digital images. Prior to 7.1.2-32 and 6.9.13-57, a crafted XMP profile embedded in an image can cause the profile parser to enter an infinite loop, preventing image processing from completing. This issue is fixed in versions 7.1.2-32 and 6.9.13-57.
Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/07/2026
ImageMagick serves as a foundational toolset for digital image manipulation across numerous software ecosystems, making its stability critical for applications ranging from web services to automated media processing pipelines. The vulnerability identified in versions prior to 7.1.2-32 and 6.9.13-57 centers on the handling of Extensible Metadata Platform profiles embedded within image files. XMP is a standard metadata format used by many digital imaging applications to store information such as copyright details, color space data, and editing history directly inside image containers like JPEG or TIFF files. When ImageMagick processes an image containing an XMP profile, it invokes a specific parser designed to extract and interpret this structured data.
The core technical flaw lies in the logic governing the parsing of these embedded profiles. A specially crafted XMP payload can trigger an infinite loop within the parser routine rather than terminating normally or raising an appropriate error code for malformed input. This behavior indicates a failure in boundary checking or state management during the iteration over metadata fields. Instead of detecting invalid structures and aborting, the software enters a non-terminating execution cycle that consumes available processing resources indefinitely.
From an operational perspective, this flaw manifests as a denial-of-service condition against any service relying on ImageMagick for image ingestion. If an application accepts user-uploaded images or processes external media without strict input validation, attackers can exploit this infinite loop to exhaust CPU cycles and memory allocation associated with the process thread. In web-facing environments where ImageMagick is invoked via CGI scripts or backend APIs, a single malicious request can hang the worker process indefinitely, effectively blocking subsequent legitimate requests until the system administrator intervenes manually or timeout mechanisms force termination. This results in significant service degradation and potential availability loss for dependent applications.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-835, which describes loops that do not terminate correctly due to improper loop control logic. Furthermore, it maps to MITRE ATT&CK technique T1496, Resource Hijacking, specifically under the subcategory of CPU or Memory Exhaustion via denial-of-service attacks. The attack vector typically involves Remote Code Execution prerequisites being bypassed in favor of pure availability impact, classifying this primarily as a resource exhaustion vulnerability rather than an integrity or confidentiality breach.
Mitigation strategies require immediate upgrading to ImageMagick version 7.1.2-32 or 6.9.13-57 and later releases where the parsing logic has been corrected to handle malformed XMP profiles gracefully. For environments unable to upgrade immediately, implementing input validation at the application layer is essential. This includes restricting accepted file types, validating image headers before invoking ImageMagick binaries, and configuring system-level timeouts or resource limits such as ulimit settings on Linux systems to prevent any single process from monopolizing CPU time indefinitely. Additionally, deploying a reverse proxy with request timeout configurations can help mitigate the impact by forcibly terminating long-running requests that exceed expected processing durations.