CVE-2026-26983
📋 TL;DR
This CVE describes a use-after-free vulnerability in ImageMagick's MSL interpreter when processing invalid <map> elements, causing crashes. It affects ImageMagick versions before 7.1.2-15 and 6.9.13-40. Systems processing untrusted images via ImageMagick are vulnerable to denial of service.
💻 Affected Systems
- ImageMagick
📦 What is this software?
Imagemagick by Imagemagick
Imagemagick by Imagemagick
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Remote code execution if the use-after-free can be weaponized with additional vulnerabilities, though this CVE alone only causes crashes.
Likely Case
Denial of service through application crashes when processing malicious images, disrupting image processing services.
If Mitigated
Minimal impact if proper input validation and sandboxing are implemented, limiting crash effects to isolated processes.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires sending a malicious MSL file to trigger the crash. No public proof-of-concept available as of analysis.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: ImageMagick 7.1.2-15 and 6.9.13-40
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/ImageMagick/ImageMagick/security/advisories/GHSA-w8mw-frc6-r7m8
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Update ImageMagick to version 7.1.2-15 or 6.9.13-40 using your package manager. 2. For Linux: 'sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade imagemagick' (Debian/Ubuntu) or 'sudo yum update imagemagick' (RHEL/CentOS). 3. Restart any services using ImageMagick.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable MSL processing
linuxRemove or disable MSL (Magick Scripting Language) support in ImageMagick configuration to prevent exploitation.
Edit policy.xml: sudo nano /etc/ImageMagick-6/policy.xml or /etc/ImageMagick-7/policy.xml
Add: <policy domain="coder" rights="none" pattern="MSL" />
Save and restart services.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict input validation to reject MSL files from untrusted sources.
- Run ImageMagick in isolated containers with resource limits to contain crashes.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check ImageMagick version: 'convert --version' or 'magick --version'. If version is below 7.1.2-15 (for v7) or 6.9.13-40 (for v6), system is vulnerable.Check Version:
convert --version 2>/dev/null || magick --version 2>/dev/nullVerify Fix Applied:
After update, run 'convert --version' or 'magick --version' to confirm version is 7.1.2-15 or 6.9.13-40 or higher.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- ImageMagick process crashes with segmentation faults
- Error logs containing 'MSL' or 'map' element parsing failures
Network Indicators:
- Inbound requests with MSL file uploads to image processing endpoints
SIEM Query:
source="*imagemagick*" AND ("segmentation fault" OR "crash" OR "MSL")