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Ubuntu LinuxOperating system · Canonical

CVE-2017-17914

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-12-27
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
72/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges

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 · unedited
In ImageMagick 7.0.7-16 Q16, a vulnerability was found in the function ReadOnePNGImage in coders/png.c, which allows attackers to cause a denial of service (ReadOneMNGImage large loop) via a crafted mng image file.

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 confidence

A denial of service vulnerability exists in ImageMagick 7.0.7-16 Q16 within the ReadOnePNGImage function in coders/png.c. When processing a crafted MNG (Multiple-image Network Graphics) file, the function enters a large or infinite loop, causing excessive CPU consumption and service unavailability. The issue stems from missing loop termination safeguards when parsing MNG image data.

MitigationUpdate ImageMagick to a version with the patched loop control in coders/png.c, or disable MNG format support in ImageMagick's configuration if not required. Consider implementing resource limits via ImageMagick policy.xml to restrict processing of untrusted images.

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
Ubuntu LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 14.04= 16.04= 17.10= 18.04
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 7.0
ImagemagickApplication
Affected:= 7.0.7-16

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check if ImageMagick is installed
    Run 'identify -version' or 'convert -version' to retrieve the installed ImageMagick version and release date.
    Affected if ImageMagick is not installed, so the CVE does not apply.
  2. Compare installed version to affected range
    Verify the exact version number returned from the version check. Affected versions include 7.0.7-16 specifically, and potentially earlier versions in the 7.0.7.x series.
    Affected if The installed version is 7.0.7-16 or earlier in the 7.0.7.x series.
  3. Determine if MNG format support is enabled
    Run 'identify -list format' and look for MNG in the output. Alternatively, check ImageMagick configuration files (such as /etc/ImageMagick-6/policy.xml or the equivalent path for your version) for any MNG-related entries.
    Affected if MNG format support is enabled in ImageMagick. If MNG is disabled or not listed in supported formats, the vulnerability cannot be triggered.
  4. Verify MNG file processing capability
    Attempt to process a small test MNG file using 'convert input.mng output.png' or check the output of 'identify input.mng' to confirm MNG decoding is active.
    Affected if ImageMagick successfully reads and decodes MNG files, confirming MNG support is active and the vulnerable code path could be reached.

The environment is affected if ImageMagick version 7.0.7-16 (or earlier 7.0.7.x versions on affected Linux distributions) is installed with MNG format support enabled, allowing a crafted MNG file to trigger the infinite loop in ReadOnePNGImage.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update ImageMagick to a version with the patched loop control in coders/png.c, or disable MNG format support in ImageMagick's configuration if not required. Consider implementing resource limits via ImageMagick policy.xml to restrict processing of untrusted images.

Fix this in Ubuntu Linux Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,640
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2017-17914 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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