CVE-2026-109271 in ImageMagick
Summary
by MITRE • 10/12/2026
ImageMagick 7.1.2-30 before 7.1.2-32 contains a use after free vulnerability in the WBINFO decoder that occurs when a memory allocation fails during image decoding. Attackers can supply a crafted image that, when decoded under memory allocation failure conditions, causes freed memory to be reused, crashing the application.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/12/2026
The identified security flaw resides within the WebP Image Format (WBINFO) decoder component of ImageMagick versions prior to 7.1.2-32. This vulnerability is classified as a use-after-free error, which corresponds to CWE-416 in the Common Weakness Enumeration standard. The root cause lies in improper memory management during the decoding process when specific failure conditions are met. Specifically, if a critical memory allocation fails while processing an image file, the application does not correctly handle the state of previously allocated resources. Instead of safely aborting or cleaning up all associated pointers, the code proceeds to access memory that has already been deallocated by the system due to the prior failure.
From a technical perspective, this issue exploits the lifecycle management of dynamic memory within the decoder routine. When an image is being parsed, various buffers and structures are allocated on the heap. If one of these allocations fails, typically returning NULL or triggering an error path, the existing logic may still reference pointers to objects that were freed as part of a cleanup sequence for previous steps or due to the allocation failure itself. By supplying a crafted WebP image file designed to trigger this specific memory pressure scenario, an attacker can force the application into this erroneous state. The subsequent attempt to read from or write to the now-invalid pointer results in undefined behavior, which most commonly manifests as a segmentation fault and immediate crash of the processing service or application.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is primarily centered on availability rather than confidentiality or integrity in its default exploitation scenario. An attacker can leverage this flaw to execute a denial-of-service attack against any system relying on ImageMagick for image processing, such as web applications that accept user-uploaded images, content management systems, or automated media pipelines. The crash disrupts service continuity and may lead to data loss if unsaved operations are interrupted. While the primary manifestation is a crash, use-after-free vulnerabilities can sometimes be chained with other memory corruption issues to achieve arbitrary code execution, although this specific description highlights the stability impact of the flaw under allocation failure conditions.
To mitigate this risk, organizations must upgrade ImageMagick to version 7.1.2-32 or later, where the developers have addressed the improper handling of memory states during decoder failures. In environments where immediate patching is not feasible, defensive measures should include implementing strict input validation and size limits for uploaded images to reduce the likelihood of triggering allocation failures. Additionally, deploying runtime protection mechanisms such as Address Sanitizers in development or production monitoring tools can help detect abnormal memory access patterns. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499, Endpoint Denial of Service, specifically under the sub-technique of resource exhaustion via application crashes, emphasizing the need for robust error handling and resilient service architectures to maintain operational continuity against malformed inputs.