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ImageMagick EUVDEUVD-2026-97707

| CVE-2026-109263 MEDIUM
Memory Leak (CWE-401)
2026-10-12 VulnCheck GHSA-fhv3-69qw-xpc9
6.3
CVSS 4.0 · Vendor: VulnCheck
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Reach service that encodes images to YUV
  2. Delivery
    Submit crafted image triggering encoder failure
  3. Exploit
    YUV encoder leaks unreleased memory
  4. Execution
    Repeat at volume to exhaust resources
  5. Impact
    Service degradation or crash (DoS)

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Resource cleanup, leak prevention
Exploitation Conditions

Exploitation requires that the target application invoke ImageMagick's YUV encoder - i.e., write/convert an image to the YUV output format (coders/yuv.c WriteYUVImage) - on attacker-influenced input; deployments that never produce YUV output are not exposed. Within that path, the attacker must craft input that makes a specific encoder operation fail (the fix shows leaks on the ResourceLimitError/ThrowWriterException failure branch and in chroma_image cleanup), and because each failure leaks only incrementally, a realistic denial of service requires repeated, high-volume triggering to exhaust memory (reflected by AT:P). Limiting factors: no authentication is required per PR:N, but the attack is gated by the non-default use of the YUV write path, the need to reliably force the failing operation, and the gradual/cumulative nature of the leak (availability-only, VA:L).

Impact

This is a medium-severity resource-exhaustion issue (CVSS 4.0 base 6.3) with impact confined entirely to availability (VC:N/VI:N/VA:L) - there is no confidentiality or integrity exposure and CWE-401 (missing memory release) confirms it is a memory leak, not code execution. The vendor CVSS vector is CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N, and the key tempering signal is AT:P (Attack Requirements: Present): exploitation is not a clean one-shot remote hit but depends on first forcing a specific YUV encoder operation to fail, then repeating it enough to exhaust memory. The 'potentially exhausting resources' language in the description underscores that a single request leaks only a small amount - a sustained, high-volume campaign is required for observable DoS. No EPSS score, KEV listing, or public POC was provided in the input, so exploitation status is: no public exploit identified at time of analysis. Net assessment: this is a real but modest-priority patch-management item - a classic 'high-enough-CVSS-but-low-real-risk' availability bug - that matters most to services that pipe untrusted images through ImageMagick's YUV output path and far less to typical deployments that never invoke that encoder. Patch promptly in exposed image-processing services; deprioritize relative to any RCE/memory-corruption ImageMagick issues.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An internet-facing service (e.g., an image-conversion API or upload pipeline) uses ImageMagick to write output in the YUV format. An attacker repeatedly submits crafted images designed to make the YUV encoder's allocation/validation step fail, and each failed operation leaks memory that is never freed; over many requests the process's memory footprint grows until the service degrades or crashes. No public exploit code was identified in the provided data, and the AT:P requirement means the attacker must reliably trigger the failing path at volume.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).
Patch available 0.4% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Oct 12, 2026

Memory exhaustion in ImageMagick before 6.9.13-57 (6.x line) and before 7.1.2-32 (7.x line) lets unauthenticated attackers leak memory by feeding crafted input to the YUV encoder, which fails to free allocated image buffers when a specific encoder operation fails. The impact is availability-only (CWE-401 memory leak, assessed CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L; vendor/NVD CVSS 4.0 base 6.3), and because each failure leaks only incrementally, a practical denial of service requires repeated, high-volume triggering of the failing path. Exploitation is gated by the target application actually producing YUV output, since the flaw lives in coders/yuv.c WriteYUVImage and deployments that never write YUV are not exposed; no public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis and there is no CISA KEV confirmation of active exploitation.

RemediationAI

Upgrade to a fixed release: ImageMagick 6.9.13-57 or later on the 6.x train, or 7.1.2-32 or later on the 7.x train (vendor-released patch; the specific upstream fixes are commit 493fab0b6072787e929184761b6ab6405a9486a2 for the 7.x codebase and commit 3e2075fe4a148ce33e7d749a99898e55a6cad7b5 for the 6.x codebase, referenced from advisory https://github.com/ImageMagick/ImageMagick/security/advisories/GHSA-69jx-j2x2-g5w4). If immediate upgrading is not possible, apply a policy.xml restriction that denies the YUV coder to untrusted input - e.g. a coder policy with rights="none" and pattern="YUV" - which fully removes exposure on the write path but will break any legitimate application that must emit YUV files; alternatively, constrain the blast radius with policy.xml memory and map limits (or the MAGICK_MEMORY_LIMIT / MAGICK_MAP_LIMIT environment variables) so that leaked memory is capped and the process fails fast instead of exhausting host memory, at the cost of aborting large legitimate conversions. Running image processing in a resource-capped container or cgroup, and rejecting untrusted inputs that request YUV output before they reach ImageMagick, are useful compensating controls while the patch is staged. Note that PDF/PostScript-style delegation controls and generic 'defense in depth' measures do not address this specific encoder leak; the fix or a YUV-coder denial is required.

Affected VersionsENISA

ImageMagick 0 <6.9.13-57
ImageMagick 7.0.0-0 <7.1.2-32

Affected Packages

euvd imagemagick fix: 6.9.13-57, 7.1.2-32

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 1 package in euvd

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

The flaw is a classic missing-resource-release defect (CWE-401) inside ImageMagick's YUV coder. The CPE strings identify the affected package as cpe:2.3:a:imagemagick:imagemagick (both the 6.x and 7.x release trains), and the supplied source diffs pinpoint the root cause in coders/yuv.c: on the failure branch reached via ThrowWriterException(ResourceLimitError, ...), the code previously bailed out without destroying the intermediate yuv_image object, and the function also returned without freeing chroma_image. The upstream fixes add yuv_image=DestroyImage(yuv_image) inside the ResourceLimitError branch and guard chroma_image with 'if (chroma_image != (Image *) NULL) chroma_image=DestroyImage(chroma_image)'. Because the leaked allocations occur only when an encoder sub-operation fails (not on every invocation of the write path), the attacker must craft input that reliably forces that failure, and each trigger reclaims only a small amount of memory - which is why the independent assessment rates attack complexity as high (AC:H) and rationalizes the CVSS 4.0 'AT:P' (attack requirements present) component. There is no path to code execution, confidentiality loss, or integrity tampering; the sole consequence is cumulative heap/resource growth until the process or host runs out of memory.

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Severity by source

Vendor (VulnCheck) PRIMARY 6.3 MEDIUM
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
vuln.today AI 3.7 LOW

AV:N since a remote service may expose the YUV path; AC:H because exploitation needs a specific failing operation forced repeatedly to exhaust memory; PR:N/UI:N per unauthenticated input; only A:L as impact is a gradual leak.

3.1 AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Red Hat 3.7 LOW

Primary rating from Vendor (VulnCheck).

CVSS VectorVendor: VulnCheck

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Attack Requirements
Present
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Vulnerable system: Confidentiality
None
Vulnerable system: Integrity
None
Vulnerable system: Availability
Low
Subsequent system: Confidentiality
None
Subsequent system: Integrity
None
Subsequent system: Availability
None

DescriptionCVE.org

ImageMagick before 6.9.13-57 and 7.x before 7.1.2-32 contains a memory leak in the YUV encoder, which fails to release allocated memory when a specific operation fails. Attackers can supply crafted input that triggers the failing encoder operation, leaking memory and potentially exhausting resources to cause a denial of service.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.4%
Top 71% exploitable
Prevalence
High
ImageMagick is a widely deployed image-processing library across web apps and servers
Data Quality
5 sources
Confidence: Medium

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity MEDIUM
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.4%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable· derived
Yes
Human Impact· derived
Medium

Priority Score

32
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +32
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.

CVE-2016-3714 HIGH POC
8.4 May 05

The (1) EPHEMERAL, (2) HTTPS, (3) MVG, (4) MSL, (5) TEXT, (6) SHOW, (7) WIN, and (8) PLT coders in ImageMagick before 6.

CVE-2016-3718 MEDIUM POC
5.5 May 05

The (1) HTTP and (2) FTP coders in ImageMagick before 6.9.3-10 and 7.x before 7.0.1-1 allow remote attackers to conduct

CVE-2016-3715 MEDIUM POC
5.5 May 05

The EPHEMERAL coder in ImageMagick before 6.9.3-10 and 7.x before 7.0.1-1 allows remote attackers to delete arbitrary fi

CVE-2017-15277 MEDIUM POC
6.5 Oct 12

ReadGIFImage in coders/gif.c in ImageMagick 7.0.6-1 and GraphicsMagick 1.3.26 leaves the palette uninitialized when proc

CVE-2016-5841 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Dec 13

Integer overflow in MagickCore/profile.c in ImageMagick before 7.0.2-1 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of serv

CVE-2016-3717 MEDIUM POC
5.5 May 05

The LABEL coder in ImageMagick before 6.9.3-10 and 7.x before 7.0.1-1 allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files vi

CVE-2016-5118 CRITICAL
9.8 Jun 10

The OpenBlob function in blob.c in GraphicsMagick before 1.3.24 and ImageMagick allows remote attackers to execute arbit

CVE-2016-5689 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Dec 13

The DCM reader in ImageMagick before 6.9.4-5 and 7.x before 7.0.1-7 allows remote attackers to have unspecified impact b

CVE-2016-5690 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Dec 13

The ReadDCMImage function in DCM reader in ImageMagick before 6.9.4-5 and 7.x before 7.0.1-7 allows remote attackers to

CVE-2016-5691 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Dec 13

The DCM reader in ImageMagick before 6.9.4-5 and 7.x before 7.0.1-7 allows remote attackers to have unspecified impact b

CVE-2017-14138 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Sep 04

ImageMagick 7.0.6-5 has a memory leak vulnerability in ReadWEBPImage in coders/webp.c because memory is not freed in cer

CVE-2026-23876 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Jan 20

Heap buffer overflow in ImageMagick's XBM image decoder (ReadXBMImage) lets remote attackers write attacker-controlled d

Vendor StatusVendor

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