Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
ImageMagick before 7.1.2-13 can crash from a flaw in its Magick Scripting Language handling. The impact is availability loss, not data theft or tampering based on the published CVSS. Business urgency is highest where shared systems or automated image-processing jobs run ImageMagick and untrusted users can influence MSL processing.
Executive priority
Treat as a moderate availability risk. Patch during the next standard maintenance window, sooner for multi-user systems or business-critical image-processing services. There is no source-supported evidence of active exploitation in the provided materials.
Technical view
CVE-2026-23874 is a stack overflow caused by infinite recursion in ProcessMSLScript. The issue occurs in the MSL <write> command when writing to MSL format. It is classified as CWE-835 and scored CVSS 5.5 with local attack vector, low complexity, low privileges, no user interaction, and high availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on systems running ImageMagick versions earlier than 7.1.2-13 where a local or authenticated user can invoke ImageMagick or influence MSL script processing. The provided sources do not establish unauthenticated remote exposure.
Exploitation context
The CVE record lists local access and low privileges as required. The source bundle does not indicate known active exploitation, and it is not listed as KEV. Practical impact is likely denial of service through process crash or resource exhaustion conditions.
Researcher notes
Public detail in the bundle is limited to the CVE description and GitHub advisory reference. Do not assume remote exploitability beyond the CVSS local vector. Focus validation on version presence, MSL feature exposure, and whether untrusted low-privileged users can reach affected processing paths.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade ImageMagick to version 7.1.2-13 or later.
- Prioritize shared hosts and automation pipelines processing user-controlled image scripts.
- Restrict untrusted users from invoking ImageMagick MSL features where feasible.
- Check ImageMagick vendor guidance for any additional configuration recommendations.
Validation and detection
- Inventory installed ImageMagick versions across servers, containers, and build images.
- Confirm whether any installed version is earlier than 7.1.2-13.
- Identify workflows that process or generate MSL content.
- Verify upgraded systems report ImageMagick 7.1.2-13 or later.
- Monitor image-processing services for crashes until remediation is complete.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-835: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2026-23874 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 5.5 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H1.83.6Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
5.5MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://github.com/ImageMagick/ImageMagick/security/advisories/GHSA-9vj4-wc7r-p844CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop')
Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.