Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2026-25988 is a memory leak in ImageMagick’s MSL image handling. In affected versions, an image can be placed in the wrong internal slot and not freed after an error. The likely business impact is reduced availability from memory consumption, not data theft or data modification.
Executive priority
Treat as a moderate availability risk. Patch during the next normal security update cycle, faster for public-facing image processing services. There is no source-backed evidence of active exploitation, but the vulnerability can be triggered without authentication according to the CVSS vector.
Technical view
ImageMagick versions before 7.1.2-15 and 6.9.13-40 have a CWE-401 memory leak in coders/msl.c. The stack index may not be refreshed, leaving an image stored incorrectly and unreleased on error. CVSS 3.1 is 5.3: network reachable, low complexity, no privileges or user interaction, availability impact only.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most relevant where ImageMagick processes untrusted or externally supplied images, especially services that accept uploads or automated image conversion jobs. Affected version ranges are ImageMagick 7.0.0 through before 7.1.2-15, and 6.x before 6.9.13-40.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not report active exploitation, and the CVE is not marked as KEV. The vulnerability is described as remotely reachable with low attack complexity and no authentication or user interaction, but impact is limited to availability through memory leakage.
Researcher notes
The advisory attributes the issue to MSL stack index handling and unreleased images on error. Source data does not provide exploit details beyond the vulnerability mechanics, and none are needed for validation. Focus analysis on affected ImageMagick versions and exposure through untrusted image-processing paths.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade ImageMagick 7.x to 7.1.2-15 or later.
- Upgrade ImageMagick 6.x to 6.9.13-40 or later.
- If packaged by an OS vendor, apply the vendor’s ImageMagick security update.
- Prioritize systems processing untrusted images or public uploads.
- Check vendor guidance if immediate upgrade is not possible.
Validation and detection
- Inventory all ImageMagick installations and embedded dependencies.
- Confirm installed versions against the affected version ranges.
- Identify internet-facing or upload-processing workflows using ImageMagick.
- Verify upgraded systems report patched ImageMagick versions.
- Review application monitoring for abnormal memory growth during image processing.
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
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CWE-401: Exact CWE lookup
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Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2026-25988 mapping review
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Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 5.3 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
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:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L3.91.4Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
5.3MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://github.com/ImageMagick/ImageMagick/security/advisories/GHSA-782x-jh29-9mf7CVE 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.
Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime
Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.