CVE-2024-41817
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2024-41817 is a path injection vulnerability in ImageMagick's AppImage version where empty paths in MAGICK_CONFIGURE_PATH and LD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variables allow loading malicious configuration files or shared libraries from the current working directory. This can lead to arbitrary code execution when ImageMagick processes untrusted files. Users running vulnerable AppImage versions of ImageMagick are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- ImageMagick AppImage
📦 What is this software?
Imagemagick by Imagemagick
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Full system compromise via remote code execution when processing malicious images, potentially leading to data theft, ransomware deployment, or persistent backdoors.
Likely Case
Local privilege escalation or code execution when users run ImageMagick on untrusted directories containing malicious libraries or configuration files.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper file permissions and directory restrictions, potentially only affecting the current user session.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user interaction to run ImageMagick in a directory containing malicious files; no authentication bypass needed.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 7.1.1-36
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/ImageMagick/ImageMagick/security/advisories/GHSA-8rxc-922v-phg8
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Download the patched AppImage from ImageMagick's official site. 2. Replace the vulnerable AppImage file. 3. Ensure proper file permissions on the new AppImage.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Set Safe Environment Variables
linuxOverride vulnerable environment variables with safe paths before executing ImageMagick.
export MAGICK_CONFIGURE_PATH=/usr/local/etc/ImageMagick-7
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/local/lib
Restrict Execution Directory
allOnly run ImageMagick from trusted directories with controlled content.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Use alternative ImageMagick installation methods (package manager, source build) instead of AppImage.
- Implement strict file system permissions to prevent unauthorized library/configuration file creation in user directories.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check if using ImageMagick AppImage and version is below 7.1.1-36.Check Version:
./ImageMagick.AppImage --version | head -1Verify Fix Applied:
Verify ImageMagick version is 7.1.1-36 or higher using the version check command.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual process execution from ImageMagick with unexpected library loads
- File access attempts to suspicious configuration files in current directory
Network Indicators:
- Outbound connections from ImageMagick processes to unexpected destinations
SIEM Query:
process_name:"ImageMagick" AND (file_path:"./" OR file_path:"*/.*")🔗 References
- https://github.com/ImageMagick/ImageMagick/blob/3b22378a23d59d7517c43b65b1822f023df357a0/app-image/AppRun#L11-L14
- https://github.com/ImageMagick/ImageMagick/commit/6526a2b28510ead6a3e14de711bb991ad9abff38
- https://github.com/ImageMagick/ImageMagick/security/advisories/GHSA-8rxc-922v-phg8
- https://github.com/ImageMagick/ImageMagick/blob/3b22378a23d59d7517c43b65b1822f023df357a0/app-image/AppRun#L11-L14
- https://github.com/ImageMagick/ImageMagick/commit/6526a2b28510ead6a3e14de711bb991ad9abff38
- https://github.com/ImageMagick/ImageMagick/security/advisories/GHSA-8rxc-922v-phg8
