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CVE Record

CVE-2026-25965: ImageMagick's policy bypass through path traversal allows reading restricted content despite secured policy

ImageMagick is free and open-source software used for editing and manipulating digital images. Prior to versions 7.1.2-15 and 6.9.13-40, ImageMagick’s path security policy is enforced on the raw filename string before the filesystem resolves it. As a result, a policy rule such as /etc/* can be bypassed by a path traversal. The OS resolves the traversal and opens the sensitive file, but the policy matcher only sees the unnormalized path and therefore allows the read. This enables local file disclosure (LFI) even when policy-secure.xml is applied. Actions to prevent reading from files have been taken in versions .7.1.2-15 and 6.9.13-40 But it make sure writing is also not possible the following should be added to one's policy. This will also be included in ImageMagick's more secure policies by default.

HighCVSS 8.6Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysishigh

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

ImageMagick could be tricked into reading files that its security policy was meant to block. If a web service uses vulnerable ImageMagick on attacker-controlled input, sensitive local files may be exposed despite policy-secure.xml being applied.

Executive priority

Treat as high priority for internet-facing upload, conversion, or media-processing services. The main business risk is unintended disclosure of sensitive server-side files, not system takeover based on the supplied evidence.

Technical view

Before ImageMagick 7.1.2-15 and 6.9.13-40, path policy checks occur on the raw filename before filesystem normalization. Path traversal can bypass rules such as restricted filesystem paths, causing local file disclosure. The issue is classified as CWE-22 with CVSS 8.6.

Likely exposure

Highest exposure is in services that run ImageMagick on untrusted or user-supplied image inputs and depend on ImageMagick path policies to prevent reading sensitive files.

Exploitation context

The bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or cited active exploitation. The CVSS vector indicates remote, unauthenticated, low-complexity exposure where ImageMagick is reachable through an application path.

Researcher notes

Focus validation on version checks, reachable ImageMagick processing paths, and policy reliance. Do not assume write impact from the provided data; the source notes additional policy work for writes but does not provide complete mitigation details here.

Mitigation direction

  • Upgrade ImageMagick to 7.1.2-15 or later.
  • Upgrade ImageMagick 6.x to 6.9.13-40 or later.
  • Apply Red Hat errata where using Red Hat-packaged ImageMagick.
  • Review the ImageMagick advisory for additional policy hardening guidance.
  • Check vendor guidance before relying on custom policy-only workarounds.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory systems and containers that include ImageMagick.
  • Confirm installed versions are not below fixed releases.
  • Identify services processing untrusted files through ImageMagick.
  • Review policy-secure.xml usage and any custom path restrictions.
  • Verify applicable OS vendor advisories are applied.
Prepared
Confidence
high
Sources
7

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

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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 · medium confidence lookup

CWE-22: File access and web shell behavior lookup

File traversal and upload weaknesses can lead teams to review file, web shell, execution, and collection telemetry. 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.

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description · low confidence lookup

File access behavior lookup

The CVE wording references file access or upload behavior, so file telemetry and web shell review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.

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cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2026-25965 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
High
CVSS
8.6 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N

Official CVE source material

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.

2CVSS vectors
5Timeline events
2ADP providers
6Source links

SSVC decision data

CISA-ADPCISA Coordinator
Timestamp
Version
2.0.3
Exploitation: noneAutomatable: yesTechnical Impact: partial

CVSS vector scores

2 official scores

We 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.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
8.6CVSS 3.1HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N3.94GitHub_M
8.6CVSS 3.1HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N3.94redhat-SADP

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

8.6High
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2026-25965Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Vulnerability timeline

Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.

  1. CVE reservedCVE Program

    The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.

  2. ADP timelineredhat-SADP

    Made public.

  3. CVE publishedCVE Program

    The CVE record was published.

  4. ADP timelineredhat-SADP

    Reported to Red Hat.

  5. CVE updatedCVE Program

    The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.

ADP provider summaries

CISA-ADPCISA ADP Vulnrichment
other:ssvc
redhat-SADPImageMagick: ImageMagick: Local File Disclosure via Path Traversal
other:Red Hat severity ratingcvssV3_1
  • 2026-02-24T02:02:18.697Z: Reported to Red Hat.
  • 2026-02-24T01:20:44.175Z: Made public.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
ImageMagickImageMagick>= 7.0.0, < 7.1.2-15, < 6.9.13-40Listed
Weakness

CWE details

CWE-22

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.

CWE-22 · source CWE mapping

Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory

Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.

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