CVE-2022-28463: Uncovering a Buffer Overflow Vulnerability in ImageMagick 7.1.-27

The purpose of this post is to delve into the technical details of a recently discovered Buffer Overflow vulnerability affecting ImageMagick (7.1.-27). For those unaware, ImageMagick is a widely-used open-source software suite that allows users to create, edit, convert, and display various types of images. Due to its widespread usage, vulnerabilities found in ImageMagick could potentially have significant repercussions.

Let's dive into the details of this vulnerability, its impact, and potential mitigation strategies.

Vulnerability Details

CVE Identifier: CVE-2022-28463
Affected Version: ImageMagick 7.1.-27
Vulnerability Type: Buffer Overflow
Severity: High

The vulnerability was discovered on March 22, 2022, and as of now, the status in the official National Vulnerability Database (NVD) remains reserved [1]. Nonetheless, based on the details available, it appears that the vulnerability stems from improper boundary checks when processing certain image files. This can potentially result in a Buffer Overflow attack, allowing an attacker to write data beyond the intended memory space, corrupt memory, cause a system crash, or even execute arbitrary code.

Code Snippet

While we await the full details of the vulnerability, a simplified example of a Buffer Overflow vulnerability is listed below:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>

void vulnerable_function(char *str) {
  char buffer[100];
  strcpy(buffer, str);   // <-- Buffer Overflow occurs here
}

int main() {
  char large_string[] = "A very large string that will overflow the buffer";
  vulnerable_function(large_string);  
}

In this example, the vulnerable_function attempts to copy the input str into a fixed-sized buffer of 100 bytes without checking its length. This could result in a Buffer Overflow if the input string is larger than the buffer.

Exploit Details

While there is currently no public proof-of-concept (PoC) available for this vulnerability, one can infer that exploiting CVE-2022-28463 would involve crafting a malicious image file specifically designed to trigger the Buffer Overflow condition. By doing so, an attacker could potentially control the flow of execution, eventually leading to code execution in the context of the ImageMagick process.

Mitigation

As of the writing of this post, there is no official patch available for CVE-2022-28463. Until the patch is released and applied, users can take the following steps to minimize their risk of exploitation:

1. Validating user input: Ensuring that image files coming from untrusted sources are properly validated before being processed by ImageMagick.
2. Restricting access: Limiting the use of ImageMagick to trusted users, particularly when operating in a multi-user environment.
3. Updating promptly: Regularly checking for updates and applying them as soon as they become available can help mitigate any other potential security issues.

Conclusion

CVE-2022-28463 is a reminder of the importance of proper input validation and boundary checking in software development. It serves as a stark reminder of the potential consequences associated with vulnerabilities in widely-used software. It is crucial to monitor the situation for updates and apply any patches as soon as they become available.

References

[1] "National Vulnerability Database (NVD) - CVE-2022-28463." NVD. https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-28463

Timeline

Published on: 05/08/2022 23:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 05/17/2022 18:07:00 UTC