CVE-2017-12805

Vulnerability

In ImageMagick version 7.0.6-6, the function ReadTIFFImage does not properly validate image dimensions or resource limits when processing TIFF files. This allows a specially crafted TIFF image to trigger an attempt to allocate an extremely large amount of memory (e.g., 0x80002000 bytes), causing memory exhaustion and a denial of service [1].

Exploitation

An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by providing a crafted TIFF image file to a user or automated system that processes images with ImageMagick [1][2]. No authentication or special network position is required; the attacker only needs to trick the victim into opening the malicious file using a tool such as the convert command [1].

Impact

Successful exploitation leads to a denial of service condition, as ImageMagick consumes all available memory and crashes. The impact is limited to availability; no information disclosure or code execution is directly associated with this specific vulnerability [1].

Mitigation

ImageMagick has addressed this issue in a later release: patches were included in Ubuntu security updates for versions 8:6.9.10.23+dfsg-2ubuntu1.11.04-1 and later [2]. Fedora also issued updates via security advisories [3][4]. Users should update to the latest version of ImageMagick or apply the relevant distribution-specific patches. No workaround is available without upgrading.