CVE-2017-11531
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedWhen ImageMagick 7.0.6-1 processes a crafted file in convert, it can lead to a Memory Leak in the WriteHISTOGRAMImage() function in coders/histogram.c.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceImageMagick 7.0.6-1 contains a memory leak vulnerability in the WriteHISTOGRAMImage() function in coders/histogram.c. When processing a specially crafted file through the convert utility, the function fails to properly free allocated memory, leading to resource exhaustion over time. This is a denial-of-service vulnerability with a CVSS 6.5 (Medium) rating.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= 7.0.6-1CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check installed ImageMagick versionRun 'convert -version' or 'magick -version' to display the version information. Look for version 7.0.6-1 specifically.Affected if The installed version is exactly 7.0.6-1
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Verify the convert utility is availableRun 'which convert' or attempt 'convert -help' to confirm the convert command-line tool is present and executable.Affected if The convert utility is installed and accessible to untrusted users or processes
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Confirm histogram coder is presentVerify that the histogram.c coder module exists in the ImageMagick installation directory (typically in coders/histogram.c or compiled into the binary). Check 'convert -list configure' for module paths.Affected if The histogram coder module is loaded and available for image processing
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Check policy.xml for convert restrictionsExamine the ImageMagick policy.xml configuration file (usually at /etc/ImageMagick/policy.xml or in the ImageMagick config directory) for any restrictions on the 'convert' command or histogram-related operations.Affected if No policy restrictions exist on the convert functionality, allowing processing of untrusted files
A user is affected if they are running exactly ImageMagick version 7.0.6-1 and have the convert utility enabled for processing untrusted image files that generate histogram output, which can trigger the memory leak in WriteHISTOGRAMImage().
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataUpgrade ImageMagick to a version containing the patch for this vulnerability, or apply the vendor-supplied patch to coders/histogram.c. As a temporary measure, restrict or disable the convert functionality for untrusted inputs via ImageMagick policy.xml configuration.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-11531 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2017-11531 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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